Living in the Shadow of Heroes
by HitmanPAC
Summary: A story about Amy: her attempts to catch up with Sonic, and the events that make their world move. Amy is many, many things, but she has to choose, now, exactly what she's going to be. Citizen, or soldier? Hero, or villain? Sonic... or herself?
1. Chapter 1

This is a story about Amy, short and simple. After playing the Sonic Adventure game, I've always thought the characters from the game had a lot of potential, especially Amy. I've decided to try and write a story using that potential here.

The basic storyline? You'll figure it out! But it's about Amy, and the genre is Action/Adventure, so you can use your imagination. I have visions of anime-style action in my head, but I know that different genres call for different things; I'll adjust my visions into a proper format, so no worries. The characters you will be seeing regularly: Amy, Shadow, Tails, Eggman, Sonic (sort of) and any OC I create. I have some flimsy plans for a sequel, but its a little early to say anything.

A few things to say:

Next, the 'fan' part of this fanfiction: I am basing this game on the two Sonic Adventure games, pretty much. I liked Sonic Heroes, but the only thing I could see as being useful from that would be the mystery of Shadow's situation. I have only played a bit of Shadow the Hedgehog; I DID research what happened in it, though, and decided to discard it. As for other sources... don't expect to find anyone unique to Sonic X in here. The only characters who will be referenced are Sonic and Co. - Chris and other human characters do not exist in this story. I have not read the comics, but I have researched those as well, to an extent, and have NO intention of using them. This is not Mobius; it is an alternate Earth, as I will explain.

In terms of how I'm going to write this: One of the best pieces of writing advice I ever got was that chapters should be as long as they had to be, no more or no less. Thus, I am not keeping a set chapter size. In terms of schedule, I have always been bad at that. I'm very sorry, but don't get your hopes up for continuous chapter-a-week stuff here. I WILL finish it, though; my vision deserves no less, and beside, I want to prove to myself that I can.

Something needs to be said about my editing. I usually fully edit a chapter by myself before posting it, but I'm bound to miss stuff. Feel free to correct me! However, reviews are not there for just that. If you don't feel like reviewing but noticed something incorrect, feel free to mail me. That said, I'm not really looking for a dedicated editor, so don't bother applying. Also, I probably will be replacing past chapters with newer, better edited versions; if there is a plot change or something important, I will tell you where to find it, but otherwise it'll just be beautification of my language.

Lastly, I'm going to write this so that people who are not familiar with Sonic the Hedgehog will be able to read it, but it will help a lot if you do. This is simply because, while I will give enough of a description for you to get a character image in your mind, most of that image will be your imagination. If you want, you can look the characters up on Wikipedia; there are very detailed articles there.

Also, this is a remake of Chapter one, and it's taking the place of the prologue as well. This is update number four, made on March first. I have rewritten the first eight chapters, thought most of it is, as I mentioned, beautification. Chapter eight has, in my opinion, change dramatically, although I only change the language a little. My previous problem with this story was the large amount of angst; I have rectified that.

And so, without futher ado, I give you: Living in the Shadow of Heroes, a tale of epic distortions centered on Amy the Hedgehog.

* * *

Reality is like an infinite bolt of cloth, forever folded in on top of itself. It's very simple to put it into words – 'a surface infinitely thick, wide, and long, folded over and over ad infinitum'. Of course, no sentient creature could possibly comprehend the true meaning of this statement – the very idea that infinity could be folded in on itself, that it could bend over itself and continue on in a straight line forever at the same time, is a paradox. And yet, all languages can express concepts beyond comprehension; all species can grasp the idea that things are impossible, and yet still occur. That is the wondrous, fantastic ability that sentience gives.

As is fitting, infinity contains an infinite amount of everything. There are an infinite number of identical solar systems constructed just the same way, and an infinite number of planets inhabitant by sentient beings which call their home 'Earth'. That hand made doll that you gave your sister on her sixth birthday – they parade into infinity. That wonderful candy, that you spent a week of allowance to buy, which was then stolen by a bully and ground beneath his foot – enough of them to make a mountain that stretched so far into the heavens that it came back around to touch its own base again. That car, piloted by a intoxicated idiot, which drove over your daughter – they could run into each other forever, and they would never stop creating destruction.

But here's the magic – there is _only one of you_. If you traveled the breadth of infinity (which is, of course, impossible) you would never ever find someone just like you. They could look like you, but there life would be different. Sure, it might be that on their ninth birthday, their foot was placed differently just one time, crushing a different set of grass blades, but it would still be different.

Is this because people have a unique soul? That's not exactly important. That's what religion is there for – to explain the impossible. And since there are an infinite number of religions out there, you're sure to find one that pleases you. What's important is that those unique lives form an unending tapestry – a string of which you will now hear. It's a special string, of course – otherwise you'd get bored and nod off halfway through. Not everyone lives an exciting life full of adventure, but the people you are about to hear about certainly do.

Among the infinite worlds, there is one particular 'Earth' on which this particular tale starts. You might have heard of a video game called 'Sonic the Hedgehog'. Unsurprisingly, among the infinite expanses of reality, there is a world that matches the events of that game exactly. This story does not start on that particular world, but rather a similar world, one that follows the events of that game _almost_ exactly.

In this world, there are no humans – or rather, no humans evolved there. One currently exists, but that's an exception - undoubtedly part of the reason why this story is so special. Instead of humans, there are anthropomorphic versions of animals we are all familiar with – alligators and bees and moles and horses and platypi and jellyfish and sharks and a million other kinds. The general term for creatures with intelligence is 'sentient' – they use it the same way we use 'human'. 'That's a humane act' is known as 'that's a sentient act'. Naturally, it doesn't mean the same thing _exactly_. That's what happens when you try to put natural prey and predator under the same heading.

Out of those species there are several that stand out. First are the Echidna. Ground-digging mammals that once formed a powerful empire, they toyed with powers beyond their control and were destroyed. There is a survivor, perhaps the only survivor, who guards the powerful Master Emerald that destroyed his ancestor's civilization – a red echidna named Knuckles. A sixteen year old who wears white gloves and keeps his hair in dreadlocks, he is a lonely, yet fierce soul. He's had the most contact with the Master Emerald's powers due to his guardianship, despite his inability to utilize it. He's known for his monstrous strength, his temper, and his gullibility, which together form a terrible combination – for everyone.

The second species of import are the Kitsune, or multi-tailed foxes. This is not because of the race itself, despite their strange obsessive tendencies being important. Rather, it's because of a single member of this species – an orphan called, appropriately, Tails. A twelve-year old genius inventor, he is a golden two-tailed fox who can't stop trying to be the best. He has spent much time studying the Chaos Emeralds – in a poem created by a member of the Knuckles Empire, these gems are described as 'the servers' which the Master Emerald controls. There are seven of them – despite each having infinite power, together they are more powerful. That's infinity for you.

Finally, there are the hedgehogs. As far the civilized world knows, there are only three of them – and one of those is from a different world. One is a hero, one is a redeemed villain, and one is an ordinary citizen, forming a strange balance. As a race, they are the only creatures shown to truly be able to harness the power of the Chaos Emeralds. They also have the ability to run at tremendous speeds, and handle much more _g-_force than humans can.

The hero is called Sonic, and he is a blue hedgehog. Like most creature on the planet, he stands over three feet tall and under four, three foot three to be precise. He is sixteen, and has a lazy, yet driven personality. He is a creature of extremes – he either does nothing, or does his best. He wears tight blue running shorts and red and white running shoes, and never anything else. Trying to get him dressed up is a task worthy of heroism itself.

Sonic is the fastest creature on the planet, capable of moving past the speed of sound. For reference, jet pilots can't handle much more than a nine or ten _g_-force for sustained periods of time – to Sonic, such forces are nothing. He uses this speed to battle Dr. Robotnik, also known as Eggman. Eggman is the sole human in this world, and wishes to take this world over. His reason for this are unknown, but he and Sonic have clashed many times, and sometimes even helped each other. They both wish to protect this Earth, even if their motives are wildly different.

Shadow is a black and red hedgehog that resembles Sonic in shape but with an unknown age. He looks like he is sixteen, but in truth he is far older. He fights with Sonic regularly, and was once his nemesis. In a different world, ironically the one Eggman originally came from, Shadow was created by no other than Dr. Robotnik's grandfather, Gerald Robotnik. He and Sonic's meeting came when Eggman, along with Sonic and many of his allies, were accidentally transported to this different world by the power of a Chaos Emerald.

This other world resembles ours in many ways, much more than Sonic's world does. For one, only humans exist there, although the Chaos Emeralds exist there as well. Shadow was created as part of a genetics program to create the ultimate lifeform – and he was the success. Why he is a hedgehog is unknown. What is known is that he can manipulate the power of Chaos, which the Chaos Emeralds draw on, without the aid of an actual gem. He runs with the aid of rocket boots, can go as fast as Sonic can, and can handle speeds just as great.

The program was ended, however, and Gerald Robotnik, along with his granddaughter, Maria Robotnik, were executed for creating things beyond the scope of the program. Shadow, who was deeply attached to Maria, was left with one incomplete message from her before he was sealed away – 'The people of this planet... them.' Interpreting this to mean he was meant to take revenge, when Eggman woke him up, Shadow set in motion his plan to destroy the planet Earth.

At the last moment, he was stopped by the third hedgehog – Amy. Her actions reminded him of Maria's last words, and helped him remember her true message – 'The people of this planet... protect them!' And so, Shadow turned from an enemy to a ally cum rival, and helped Sonic stop the threat he himself had put into motion. After that event, Sonic and his friends found a way to return to their own world. Dr. Robotnik returned as well, having grown used to the world he had spent most of his life in, and Shadow went with them, not able to find his place in his home world.

Amy herself is the last of the three, and the most passive. A pink hedgehog, she is female – and thus, obsessed with her love of Sonic, which is mostly unreturned. Her spiny hair, unlike the other two hedgehogs', curls around her head and frames her face, except for a few strands that resist, shooting out of her forehead. Her traditional wear is a red dress with a white hem, combined with matching boots and white gloves. She is not as fast as her hero, but she is considerably faster than most other creatures. She is surprisingly strong, but doesn't use this strength except when she has to.

The relationship between these creatures is simple – they all have a connection to the power of Chaos, channeled through the Master and Chaos Emeralds. In addition, they are all long-time allies and friends, having worked together time after time. Tails grew up with Sonic, and he considers Sonic his older brother, as well as Amy his older sister. Knuckles, Shadow, and Sonic form a triad of rivalry, competing against each other to see who is the strongest. And Amy... Amy loves Sonic, and has tried for four long, long years to get his attention.

This story is about Amy, and the events that revolve around her as she walks the path she has chosen – the path that goes wherever Sonic has gone.

* * *

On this planet called Earth, there are three continents. The many species of this planet are spread among these continents, and a matching variety of terrain accompanies them. Exotic and homely landscapes are everywhere, if you know where to look: Simple grass plains, ancient, eternal, and unchanging. Submerged forests, their petrified depths holding ancient stonework that even the wisest of scholars cannot decipher. Quartz deserts, where every grain shines with a different color, and the sandstorms are so brilliant that sentients have been known to be struck blind simply by gazing into them.

These three continents that the sentients live on are known as Feyt, Morwin, and Haze; out of these three continents, only Feyt and Morwin are widely settled. Haze has remained a dangerous place for as long as most records have existed; its popular name is the 'Continent of the Dead', because no one ever returns once they have set foot on its shores.

Feyt and Morwin contain their own share of death and destruction, though. Feyt houses the Eggman Empire, property of the genius Dr. Robotnik and the staging platform for his plan to conquer the world, while Morwin is his next target. Dr. Robotnik, a genius of robotics driven by fierce desires and unlimited by morals, took over Feyt many years ago, and continues to scheme in order to take the rest.

In opposition to Eggman, Morwin contains a multitude of small governments, ranging from democracies and republics to monarchies and theocracies. The only reason these countries haven't been conquered by Dr. Robotnik is because of a single hero standing firm against the tyranny of The Doctor: Sonic the Hedgehog.

When he isn't traveling the world or fighting for justice, Sonic stays at his home in the Green Forest. A lush jungle, it contains so many dangerous life forms, both plant and animal, that the interior parts have been listed as off-limits to civilians. Sonic deliberately chose this area exactly for that reason; an international hero, his stalkers are so numerous that multiple brigades have been formed, and their infighting is the only thing giving Sonic peace.

While not actually inside the off-limit area, Sonic's house has still been declared as such. Elem, the country in which the Green Forest resides, is the closest to Feyt out of all the countries on Morwin; the Hof land bridge, which connects the two continents, is also within Elem territory, making the republic the primary site of conflict in the battle between Sonic and Eggman. As such, they hold the greatest debt to Sonic, and show it by granting all of his requests. Not even the government invades his privacy, as only his closest friends and allies are given clearance to set foot on his property.

For something so secret and mysterious, it often surprises those who get to see it. It's more of a hut than a house, as Sonic asked for nothing more than a single room. Nevertheless, it is well built; with white plaster-composite walls and a red metal tile roof, it was neither atrocious nor attractive. Amy stared at it apprehensively, wondering if she shared the same curse.

Amy was wearing her usual dress today; she had found that Sonic reacted negatively to changes in appearance, probably due to his aversion to formal wear. She had approached at a speed neither too slow nor too fast – in Sonic's eyes, one was viewed as an enemy, and the other a rabid fan, and so both were instinctively avoided. Amy knew a lot about how Sonic worked, although none that information had been volunteered. Only through observation and experimentation had Amy found the careful balance that was required to both get his interest and avoid spooking him.

Or so she hoped. Over the past four long years, Amy had tried many things. Her successes had been rare and uneventful; the few dates she has managed to get Sonic to agree to had never amounted to anything more than a bit of time spent together, but Amy persevered. She had followed Sonic everywhere, even onto the battlefield; she was determined to make him look at her no matter what. Amy's optimistic attitude had outlasted almost all of the petty fan girls that had tried to fulfill their own desires with Sonic, and even when she was trapped in a different world with Sonic, she had continued her pursuit.

She had come to Sonic's house, once again, to try and obtain a date with him. Today, she had a fairly good plan; a group of penguins, exiled from their isolationist homeland for being outspoken against their government, had opened an ice cream shop in Anse, the capital of Elem. Although the penguins had set it up primarily to act as a center of anti-isolationist activity, penguin ice cream was really, _really_ good, and Sonic _loved_ it. He had frequented their country before the isolationists took control, and still kept an ear out for smuggled goods. The chance to both get some penguin ice cream AND get involved in the penguin freedom movement would be irresistible to Sonic, and Amy aimed to capitalize!

But, it was unlikely he was at home. Sonic was never around when she called, especially recently. She'd barely seen the hero for over a month, and was getting tired of it. But it wasn't the first time he'd disappeared; Sonic had been gone before, and as she had waited for him to return then, she would continue to wait now.

But that didn't mean she would be passive about it, oh no! She wanted to be ready the instant Sonic got back, so she visited the hero's house everyday. This day, as she walked up to the entrance, she noticed Sonic had put in a new door – proof that he had recently been here! It swiveled on its hinges, and had neither a door knob nor a lock – a huge security risk if she had ever seen one. Amy assumed he had replaced his old door because he had gotten tired of coming to a full stop to get into his house; if Amy ran like he did, she sure would have by now.

_Well, I doubt he has anything worth stealing anyway. He lets Tails hold onto anything of value to him, so he probably just has a bunch of old appliances in there._

Amy hesitantly knocked on the door, which waved back and forth at the gentle pressure. She wasn't really surprised when no one answered, but her heart dropped in her chest anyway.

_I shouldn't have hoped for things to be so easy in the first place._

She began to turn around – and then stopped. Something about her situation reminded Amy of a discussion she had had with Rouge the other day. A discussion that had been both aggravating and enlightening...

* * *

A thief turned mercenary, Rouge was a flirtatiously-dressed twenty year-old bat with a love for valuable objects, especially gems. She, too, had been transported to the alternate world, and there had started her career as a government spy. She had found that, if she requested her pay to be in expensive jewels, her desire for gems could be satisfied in a 'legal' manner. This didn't quench her thirst as a thief, though; she still regularly stole things, although she didn't advertise her thefts like she had before. Nowadays she spent most of her effort trying to steal the Master Emerald from Knuckles the Echidna. Although the two clashed fiercely, Amy had a feeling that neither was putting their all into their conflicts. Why that was so Amy didn't know for sure, but she suspected the two had a thing for each other. 

In any case, ever since they had returned from the alternate world a year ago, a friendship of sorts had sparked between her and Amy. They had been discreetly having meetings, where they talked about a variety of things. Rogue enjoyed the opportunity to brag and show off her knowledge, and Amy learned as much as she could from the older woman. The latest meeting had been almost a week ago.

They had been eating at some cafe across the street from the Anse Historical Museum – Rouge was probably targeting the place, but since Rouge always kept the details of her plans to herself, Amy couldn't say anything even if she wanted to. Beside, she liked talking with the older woman. Rogue knew a little bit about everything, a lot about art, and always spoke her mind. It was refreshing.

Like always, they had ordered some sort of dish to snack on, and began by talking about Rouge's favorite subject – art. Although Amy wasn't really knowledgeable about the subject, Rouge didn't seem to mind her ignorance. The bat had told Amy to ask questions whenever she felt like it, and never got annoyed by Amy's ignorance.

For about half an hour, Rouge had discussed why the 'Summer Hour' Jewels were so famous. The royal treasure of some island kingdom that had recently died out due to some sort of unidentified plague, the jewel set was composed of the rarest gems to be found in the world. There were twelve of them, with the most impressive being the Aurora Sapphire. A gem that changed colors regularly, it was one of a kind. Considering the way Rouge's eyes sparkled when she talked, it was pretty obvious that she wanted to steal it. Amy pretended not to notice; instead, she asked Rouge what she did with her spoils. Did she have some sort of massive collection somewhere? If she did, Amy wanted to see it! Unfortunately, Rouge had just smiled and winked, saying 'some things are better left in the imagination'. What that meant, Amy had no idea.

It was when Rouge stopped talking about the gems and began discussing why they should only belong to Rouge herself (something that was almost always the same, no matter the object in question) that Amy decided it was her time to talk. Listening to Rouge was interesting enough, but these meetings weren't for Rouge's benefit alone.

"You know," Amy began, smoothly interrupting Rouge's rant, "I haven't seen Sonic lately. Do you know where he could be?"

Rouge smiled. "Ah, has he gone off again? It's to be expected with a guy like that. Emphasis on 'guy'." She sat back, obviously aware that Amy needed her time to talk.

"Yeah," Amy exclaimed, "Why do guys always have to be so insensitive! You'd think a hero would be nicer, you know? Why does he always run away? Doesn't he realize how hurtful that is? I spend so much time trying to do nice things for him, and he repays me by hiding! What kind of hero does that?"

"Heroes," Rouge said, her voice holding a soft edge of anger that sounded almost like contempt, "are remarkably two-dimensional figures. Really, people just appear to be heroes on the outside. On the inside, everyone's the same. Everyone's got their dirty little secrets and their flaws. Sometimes, it's those flaws that make people seem like heroes."

"Wait a second," Amy said, not pleased with what Rouge was insinuating, "Sonic doesn't just 'seem' like a hero. He _is_ a hero! He keeps saving people, over and over, and he never asks for anything in return!"

Rouge blinked, surprised that she had stepped over a line, but didn't back down. "Really? To me, it just seems like he's taking advantage of the fact that his actions save lives. Do you think Sonic fights Dr. Eggman to stop people from getting hurt? Isn't it just because the doctor keeps trying to defeat him, and Sonic would never back down from a challenge?"

"No!" Amy almost shouted, the volume of her voice attracting the attention of the other patrons. "You don't understand! Sonic's always fighting, always battling Eggman! If Sonic always rises to Eggman's challenges, it's because he knows the lengths to which Eggman will go to win; I've been bait too many times not to understand that! He barely asks for anything as a reward, and he never takes advantage of his fame. He lives like a hermit, and you dare to say that he fights for some sort of material gain?"

Rouge remained calm; if anything, she had a saddened expression on her face. "It is true, that he doesn't ask for anything material, but that's not what he wants. He fights because he loves to fight, and his sense of morality is appeased by choosing Dr. Eggman as his target, but if the doctor wasn't here, he'd be fighting Knuckles and Shadow every chance he got – no matter who got hurt in the process."

"What do you know, you, you, you harlot!" Amy screamed, her face turning red with anger and her sense flying out the window as she stood up, the screech her chair made against the stone floor causing everyone else to fall into silence. "I don't know why I talk to you; the way you just take what you want has obviously left you with a stilted look on life! What do you know of other people, much less heroes like Sonic? You know nothing about him, nothing compared to what I know about him!"

Rouge glowered at the pink hedgehog. "I suggest you calm down, _little girl_, before this escalates into something too big for you to handle. How about we just get off the topic of Sonic and speak of something more neutral?"

Amy stood, her anger quickly turning to shame, before sitting back down. Scooting her chair forward as quietly as possible, Amy was very, very conscious of how all the other patrons were now discussing _her_.

"Well, um, maybe what I said isn't all true, but Sonic _is_ a hero. He just happens to be a missing one that is annoying me at the moment."

Rouge decided to let Amy's defensive comments slide. "As hurtful as it may be to think of this, maybe he's purposely avoiding you. He runs away a lot of the time, so why wouldn't that extend to his home?"

"Yeah. Maybe you're right." Amy turned all her frustration and embarrassment towards her hero as she said, "Yeah! He's probably just avoiding me! I can't let him do that!"

"Have you tried waiting inside his house?"

* * *

The rest of the discussion had pretty much been Amy complaining about how Sonic acted, and Rouge giving suggestions, ranging from shouting his name from the rooftops to seducing him – unfortunately, pretty much everything had already been attempted by the crazy fan girls that stalked Sonic, especially the seduction. They had even kidnapped Tails once, and held him ransom for a date. It was unlikely he would be caught in the same trap twice.

But as Amy thought about Rouge's first suggestion, she realized that not only had she never tried to wait inside his house, she had never even been _in_ Sonic's house. She had always respected his privacy, but now the frustration of his month-long absence, combined with the desperation of four long, trying years, drove her to consider breaking into the place. She wouldn't even need to apply the basics of burglary she had asked Rouge to teach her on a whim; his door was unlocked and unguarded, right in front of her!

"It's your fault for installing the thing. It's just asking to be opened!" Amy said out loud, trying to summon up her courage. She gently opened the door, half expecting Sonic to jump out of nowhere and scold her. When no one appeared, she took a step over the threshold, letting the door swing closed behind her.

_I was right. There isn't anything here to steal._

Amy looked around the room, surprised despite herself. As big as her living room, it was a square chamber with an alcove in the back containing a simple, yet functional bed. Otherwise, it was almost completely empty. There wasn't even a kitchen or a fridge; apparently, when Sonic said 'I don't cook', he meant he never even tried it. Other than the bed, there were two objects in the house; a small book case, and a portable holographic media center. The media center wasn't even plugged in; it was probably an experimental model that Tails had given him long ago.

Everything was covered in dust. It was clear what Sonic regularly used: the bed, the door, and the floor between the two were the only objects that didn't have a heavy coating. The bookcase had a couple of albums and one very battered book titled _Terrain: The Wondrous Landscapes of the World_, but was otherwise empty. There wasn't a scrap of color or care to be found; the paint had peeled off the walls and the varnish had disappeared long ago. A variety of mosses had attached themselves to the walls, and the remains of more dangerous plant life could be seen in the corners, where Sonic hadn't bothered to clean them up after killing and sweeping them there.

As Amy stared in awe at how much of a hermit from the rest of the world Sonic was, her eyes settled on the unlabeled albums. She started to wonder what could be so important that Sonic would keep pictures of it when he didn't even have a kitchen. Carefully picking out the least worn looking one, she opened it to find it full of old snapshots.

The pictures were of Sonic and Tails at a much younger age. Tails looked like he was barely out of kindergarten, and Sonic, while he still had his characteristic stance, grin, and spiky hair, was _really_ short and had, of all things, a pot belly. A metal cage behind them had a pair of what looked like primitive robots going at each other with gusto, and there were a few pictures of Sonic holding a controller and Tails rooting him on.

Amy, surprised to find herself looking at a bit of Sonic's secret past, turned the pages only after taking in all the details. She had always tried to learn as much as possible about Sonic, but he was pretty much a closed book. Any questions directed towards Sonic had been brushed off with "Why worry about the past?" or a similar line, and the government had quietly erased all records of him; another favor for the hero. Amy hadn't been offended; Sonic had a right to privacy, and his fans were numerous and without scruples, but it had made her very curious.

As she flipped through the album, Sonic and Tails got older as the pictures went on. Tails' robots got more complex, quickly outstripping the competition. The trophies that they held got more elaborate, gaining a variety of pledges that said things like '5th consecutive annual win', and 'quickest match in the history of Bot Battling'. Finally, the last pages were taken up with fantastic diagrams of unfinished prototypes that even Amy's relatively untrained eye could see would classify as military-grade weapons.

The book was full, and the last page wasn't a picture or a plan, but a proclamation. It was titled 'The BroBot Battling Manifesto', and it was hand written.

The BroBot Battling Manifesto

The BroBot Battling Association is an international robot battling group dedicated to

the kinship robot developers, robot pilots, and robots themselves share. It is a place

for free and fair battle to take place. Any sentient is allowed to join the BroBot Battling

Association, biological or not. Artificial Intelligences are allowed enter in any role they wish,

but biological sentients are limited to being a developer or a pilot; the BroBot Battling

Association is not for brawling. Victory goes to the better robot!

There are several grades of robot tournaments, ranging from Grade E to Grade S.

Competitors may enter in Rank E and D as they wish, but getting the competing robot

ranked is required before entering into Grade C or above. This applies to AIs entering themselves

as battling robots as well. In addition, a robot will be rejected if it is judged too powerful for the competition in question.

The following is a breakdown of the Grades:

Grade E

Robots in this grade are limited to having a volume under half a cubic meter and a mass less

than 25 kilograms.(here there was a marking on the side, saying, 'Needs to be more exact') Weapons

are limited to ones employing kinetic force through melee, such as hammers, saws, blades,

and spikes. Tactics may be used as wished

Grade D

Robots in this grade are limited to having a volume under 2 cubic meters and a mass less

than 500 kilograms. (Again, 'Needs to be more exact') Weapons are limited to anything usable

in Grade E, as well as explosives and projectile weapons. Tactics are limited to directly damaging

the opponent; while damage that disables the opponent is viable, using tactics such as electric

shock or anti-gravity are not allowed.

Grade C

Robots are no longer limited in size, weight, weapons, or tactics. Any weapon/tactic that

endangers the audience is unacceptable. A robot must be ranked to compete in a Grade C

competition, as Grade C and above robots are graded on their lethality and the technology used

in their production. Grade C consists of robots that could be feasibly used in a military assignment.

Grade B

Grade B follows the same rules as Grade C. Grade B consists of robots that would be considered

dangerous and possibly illegal for civilians to own by most governments, and waivers must be signed in order to compete in Grade B and above.

Grade A

Grade A follows the same rules as Grade B. Grade A consists of robots that are above and beyond

military grade robots, usually due to cost of production. As battles of this caliber are not held with audiences, but rather viewed via cameras, tactics and weapons can be more lethal. Weapons or

tactics that deal lasting damage to the environment are still not allowed.

Grade S

Grade S is only accessible through invitation. There are no rules in Grade S. Any robot, using

any weapon or tactic, may be entered. Battles take place in whatever place is necessary to contain

the damage; if necessary, battle may take place in space stations set up specifically for this

purpose. Signing additional waivers is required to compete in Grade S.

Using these rules, the BroBot Battling Association hopes to encourage not only competitiveness

in robot battling of all levels, but scientific development and technological advancements as well.

It is the sincere hope of the founders of the BroBot Battling Association that the Association is

used in a friendly matter, and the BroBot Battling Association founders will go to any length to

prevent the BroBot Battling Association from ever being used under different pretenses.

Amy put down the album, and thought about what she had just read. It seemed to be plans for some sort of robot battling society – very ambitious plans that required the support of the global community. Plans like this would impossible to bring to completion as long as Eggman continued to try to take over the world. As she reflected on what this meant, she heard a slight sound coming from outside. To her horror, she recognized it as the fast paced thrumming that Sonic's feet made as he ran, and before she could think of what to do, Sonic, skidding to a stop, burst through the door. Amy was left speechless as he caught her, red-handed, prying into his life.

For a brief instant Sonic looked surprised, but then he realized what Amy was doing. An annoyed look crossed over his face, but Amy could tell from the tense way that he stood that Sonic was far more than annoyed with her; he was angry. _Really_ angry.

"Amy. What are you doing in my house? I didn't invite you in here." Sonic stared at her, knowing _exactly_ what she had been doing, but wanting to see what she would say.

Amy knew that lying would make it worse. Still, the urge to come up with an excuse consumed her, and it was only by fiercely clenching her jaws shut that she was able to avoid saying, 'I was just cleaning,' or some similarly vapid comment. Of course, this led her to being unable to say a word; Sonic seemed to understand, and began speaking as if she had admitted to her guilt.

"Amy, I knew that you were determined, but I never thought you would stoop this low."

_Determined?_Determined_? I've been chasing after you for four years, and that's all you've got to say?_ Her temper flared, and she put the album back on the bookshelf before turning back to Sonic.

"Right now, you're acting no different from the flock of harpies that usually harass me."

_How dare you! I've been in love with you for four years, and you compare me to those asses? I __am above those witches in every way possible!_ Amy was no longer thinking of how she had been caught; Sonic's hurtful words were over shadowing everything.

Seeing Amy's anger grow, Sonic responded in kind, and his face grew even angrier. "I don't know what you were thinking when you tried this, but this childish crush you have on me has gone too far."

_Childish... crush?_

In an instant, Amy was empty of emotion. The shock of what Sonic had just said, the pure _stupidity_ of his words, pierced her like a lightning bolt. She was blown to bits, and she whirled in a soundless tornado. She could see Sonic speaking, but his words didn't reach her. She was empty, nothing at all.

And then Amy returned to herself, but was still incapable of moving. Half of Amy's being wanted to kill Sonic, but the other half wanted to run away crying, the disparity between the two paralyzing her. Sonic's words still came, but she couldn't understand them.

Finally, she became a whole creature again, if her fractured soul could be called whole. Hate and sorrow had combined into an instinctual need to strike back, and finally Amy spoke, interrupting Sonic mid-sentence.

"How _dare_ you say things like that to me! How _dare_ you lecture me on what's right and wrong! I have been in love with you for four years, four long, lonely years, and you call that a _crush_? You're angry that I've invaded your privacy, when for four year you haven't told me a single thing about your past? You compare me to fan girls, fan girls that have gone so far as to kidnap Tails and force you to rescue him, when the most I've done is chase after you, asking for little more than an answer to my questions? How _dare_ you pretend that you hold the moral high ground, when you haven't done a single thing that I've asked!"

Sonic stood in shock for a moment, but then he, too, grew furious.

"Haven't done anything for you? What are you _talking_ about? I've rescued you countless times, and most of those have been because you got yourself caught while chasing after me in places you shouldn't be! You've been in love with me for four years? Hah! Your 'love' is nothing but a selfish desire! You've chased after me, never respecting my wishes, trying to pry dates out of me whenever you could. You've used every bit of leverage you could to get what you wanted, and discarded all that didn't help you reach your goal. Nothing is sacred to you, and you dare to lecture me on morality?" Sonic looked like he wanted to spit, as if speaking of what Amy had done dirtied his mouth.

His words further scarred her heart, but Amy couldn't stop moving forward. It just wasn't possible to prevent words from coming out any more."What is this? How could you possibly be so dense? You say I use every bit of leverage I can get, and this is true. But why do I have to use such leverage? How come, despite your claim that nothing is holy to me, I have gone on a total of five dates with you over the last four years? If I'm so immoral, how come I haven't had more success? It's because the fault lies with _you_! You've been treading on my feelings for so long now that I've gotten used to it!"

Sonic tensed up even further than he had been before; although Amy had never known Sonic to ever hurt anyone, he looked ready to strike her. Amy would have preferred that, really; it would hurt far, far less.

"Oh, so _I'm_ the bad guy, huh? _I'm_ the one who should apologize, I suppose. It's irrelevant that I've been cleaning up your mistakes for as long as I've known you. It doesn't matter that I've tried my damnedest to avoid hurting your feelings. It doesn't matter that you _broke into my home_! For the record, you are the _only_ person who I've_ever_ gone on a _single_ date with, but if I was to guess, I'd say you've got to be the most boring person one _could _date!"

Amy had been mistaken; Sonic's words weren't comparable with the pain of a slap. She would have been preferred to have been shot, or stabbed, or beaten, or anything, really. But Amy did not stop speaking; like a boar, mortally wounded, all she could do was thrash as much as she could before she died.

"You are the most horrible person ever! I can't believe you would say things like that! How could you ignore me for all these years and expect me not to be hurt? Did you think that ignoring my feelings would make them go away? Every single one of my actions for the past four years has been related to you. I trained myself so that I could follow you everywhere. I hounded Tails until he told me all that he knew about you. I spent days at a time in libraries, researching exotic places that I thought you would like. I spent time with Cream and Rouge to salve the pain from your rejection of my feelings. I've been regularly taking sedatives at night for the past year because my nightmares have gotten so bad that I couldn't sleep. I've shattered fan clubs that got too bold, and even went so far as to start a 'Protect Sonic' society in order to foster dissension between them. My existence has been dedicated to yours. How could you hurt me so badly?"

Amy's eyes were so clouded by tears that she could barely see, and it seemed that Sonic was surprised by what she had said. But then a different expression came onto his face, one that she couldn't recognize through the watery curtain of sadness the obscured her sight.

"Amy," Sonic began, his voice both soft and steely, "That's exactly what I'm talking about. Doing all those things for me is nice, but I don't need you to take care of me. I know that you're strong, and the fact that you continually refuse to use that strength for the benefit of anyone other than me or yourself makes me, to be frank, sick.

"I've been fighting Eggman for a long time. You looked in that album: the robot fighting association mentioned in the back? That's what Tails and I originally decided was going to be our prize if we stopped Eggman. We were naïve back then, as naïve as you are now. Fighting because we wanted something so mundane; it led to a lot of innocent deaths. We didn't put our all into our battles, and people died before we realized that fighting for a prize would never be enough, that we had to fight simply because we could. A hundred and seven people, to be exact. Tails memorized the names of those people; I just think of how my stupidity caused a young kid like him to burden himself with something like that, and that's plenty of motivation for me.

"That's why I hate you sometimes, Amy. You're strong, strong enough to save lives, and yet you don't use that strength. Like Tails and I, you've let innocent people die because you did nothing. Unlike Tails and I, though, you seem like you couldn't care less about those deaths."

Amy's tears had, in an inverse reaction, slowed. Sonic's words were shocking and terrifying; Amy had retreated back into herself, and her emotions had become less and less apparent. Instead of the flood that it had been before, her tears had become condensed; inside each one was the shattered remains of a dream that had kept Amy going through all these years. Long trips in exotic places, heartfelt meals eaten by a thankful recipient, and even simply spending time together; all of these drifted down Amy's face, crumbling into pieces in their watery graves.

Sonic continued, oblivious. "I'm not really good at understanding how people think, but I'm guessing you do nothing because you think, 'I'm not a hero', or something, right? You don't even worry about it, do you? You're so entranced by your affection for me that you can't think of anything else, can you? Your worries don't expand beyond what you personally desire, and that's why I see you as immoral.

"I know that your actions would be considered as good-natured by most people. But I can't view you that way, because you have so much more potential. Maybe your feelings go beyond a crush, and maybe it's wrong to judge you by your potential, and not by what you do. That doesn't really matter. I've thought about this a lot, and even if I was wrong, I can't change. The danger Eggman poses is too great for me to doubt myself. Lives are on the line, and if I didn't give my absolute all, then more people will die. Whether you listen to me, whether you change or not, is up to you. But unless you, too, give your absolute all, I have no desire to see your face ever again."

Sonic opened the door, his emotions tamed by the pain he saw in Amy's face. With a look that held both pity and disgust, Sonic said, "Get out of my house."

Amy walked out, her limbs jerking like an automaton. Her mind was unable to focus, and movement seemed difficult, but she couldn't be in the same place as Sonic anymore. She made her way outside, and, consumed with the need to escape, began to run back to Anse.

* * *

Amy stared into the mug she was holding. It took her a moment to remember where she was and what she was doing – drinking out her sorrows at a bar in the slums of Anse. When she had busted her way in, breaking a table and several bouncers in her blind fury and need, the first drink the bartender had given her had messed with her mind, making the shadows come alive and the other patrons look like monsters. She had shook it off, though, and after an hour or so of drinking bottled beer (she no longer trusted the bartender to serve her) the effects had disappeared, and Amy had continued to drink until everything else did as well.

She downed her beverage, not even tasting it. It was strong, though; the bartender had promised her that much. As she rested her elbows on the bar and distracted herself with the way the grain twisted and turned, fury and sorrow alternatively overwhelmed her mind. The events leading to her presence at the bar were obscured in her memory, but then, that just meant she was succeeding, didn't it?

A sound penetrated her internal struggle. She looked to her right, and saw a large crocodile with a lecherous grin staring back. The thug's face, and Amy could see by the way he looked at her that he was most definitively a thug, was covered with scars. He was even missing an eye. Amy's mind slowly wound itself around this information, and concluded that she could care less. She turned back to her drink, and found it was empty.

Before she could call to the bartender to give her another bottle, the croc leaned close and put a hand on her shoulder. His breath stunk; it was doubtful that he ever brushed._Does he eat carrion, or something?_

"Hey, I can see that you want to forget. How about you come with me? I'm sure I can... distract you from your problems." The grin on the croc's face widened, and his teeth were clearly in view now. A couple were rotting.

"Fu, fuck off, gator," Amy managed to say, "Your breath stinks."

Her words seemed to encourage him, if anything. "Don't be that way, girly. You won't regret it, I promise." His hand drifted down Amy's body and began to approach her chest; Amy angrily slapped his hand away.

"Now, now," the thug said with a strained smile, "there's no call to be violent. Just come with me, and this will all go smoothly."

"Not interested."

"Well, that's not really any of my concern." The croc's smile grew stronger, but he was no longer friendly. "The owner wants you out of here, and you're leaving with me regardless of your interest."

Amy glared at him, clenching her fist. "I told you to fuck off, you, you slimy bastard!"

The croc was less than pleased with the racial slur. "Alright, girly, that's enough. You're coming with me, and you're coming now. I'm going to have some fun with you. If you're pleasant, this'll be easy. If not, well... Let's just say, no heroes are going to save you now."

It was possibly the _worst_ thing he could have said.

* * *

Tails was flying above the city, using his tails to hover like a helicopter, and carrying the smoking remains of his prototype EMP robot when he heard the feral scream. He dropped his robot and squeaked in terror, looking around for the assailant. When he realized it came from below, he became less tense, but winced at the crashing sound his robot made as it hit the ground.

Tails, like Dr. Robotnik, was a genius in the field of robotics, and a generally skilled scientist in most other fields as well. His inexperience was made up for by his brilliance and his ability to quickly grasp any subject, but in the contest between him and Eggman, the victor was undecided. The difference in their talents was quite obvious, though; where Eggman came up with marvelous alloys and systems that he mass produced to create powerful armies, Tails focused on single inventions that even the Doctor had trouble besting.

The robot he had just dropped was one such invention. Designed to emit a powerful electromagnetic pulse, it was his latest effort in the war against Eggman. Tails had been preoccupied with his own troubles lately, fighting on a different front than Sonic, but he had long been thinking of a way to bypass the EMP protection Eggman built into his robots.

The prototype was far too valuable to just leave in the streets where it had dropped. It might have hurt someone, anyway. Tails made his way closer to the ground, fearful of the voice he had heard. The part of town he was in was known to be violent and full of criminal activity, so he wasn't exactly surprised. Unfortunately, no matter how much he wanted to go out and protect the unfortunate victim who was probably getting killed by the owner of that voice, he had other jobs to do. If he tried to protect every person who got hurt, he'd never be able to accomplish anything significant. He had to think big, or even the small would escape him.

Unable to see his robot from the air at this time of night, Tails landed in the streets, turning on his shock belt and charging up his extra-strength tazer. The belt would prevent any conventional weapon from touching him, and the weapon would prevent the attacker from getting a second chance; he was fairly safe.

Holding the tracking device that would lead him to his wrecked robot in his other hand, Tails proceeded on his way. Walking down the grimy streets, he thought about putting pressure on the government to clean this place up. They would probably try, but it wouldn't amount to much of a change; they were in the middle of a war, after all, and there were barely any police in the first place.

He turned the corner, and was confronted with a brawl. He gripped his weapon tightly as he examined the conflict, and saw his machine out of the corner of his eye. As he looked, it became clear that it was less of a brawl and more a beating. In a strange twist of fate, the victim was a viscous looking crocodile, while the aggressor was a pink-

"Amy!" Tails yelled out, shocked at what was happening in front of his eyes. "What are you _doing_?" He rushed over, still holding onto his tazer.

"Huh? Tails? Wh, what're you doing here? Shouldn't you be in in your lab, saving the world, or something?" Amy let go of the crocodile, who was barely conscious at this point, and turned to her friend. "Let me guess; you want to tell me how what I'm doing is _soooo_ wrong, right? Wrong! I'm _right_! Hah!" Amy began to laugh, holding her belly and falling to her knees.

Tails could clearly see something was wrong. First, Amy was drunk. He hadn't seen that one coming. As far as he knew, Amy was a straight-shooter, and hadn't ever touched alcohol before. Her laughter was forced, as well, as if her humor was just a mask in front of her other feelings. Something was most definitely wrong with Amy, and Tails wasn't about to just leave her in the streets. He started to walk toward her, slowly – hedgehogs never saw slow objects as much of a threat.

"Amy, why don't you come with me. You can tell me all about what's wrong. That'll make you feel better, right?"

Amy stopped laughing, and stared at Tails in shock and confusion. "How'd you know something was wrong? I didn't know anything was wrong until you said it! Now that I think about, about it, I didn't _want_ to know that something was wrong. Why don't you just mind your own business!" Her tone was almost threatening, but rather than move towards Tails, Amy seemed to withdraw into herself.

"Amy, I'm your friend, I would never hurt you. You can tell me what's wrong, and I'll help you, I promise." Tails kept his voice level and his posture open as he walked closer, while examining the street around them. Considering the noise Amy had been making, he was surprised there wasn't a crowd, despite it being only 2 o'clock in the morning. But then, this wasn't a normal neighborhood – it was the slums of Anse, and people here didn't get into trouble they could avoid.

"Friends hurt me all the time! None of you ever understand how I think! I'm always so... so alone..." Amy almost instantaneously switched from anger to sadness, and tears began to fall down her cheeks.

"Amy, If you tell me how you think, then I'll know, and you won't be alone. So why don't you come with me and we can have a nice, long talk about anything you want." Deciding that there weren't any threats in the immediate area, Tails shut off his shock belt and his tazer. He put his hand on her shoulder, but she flinched and withdrew. Tails almost did the same at such an adverse reaction to his touch, but instead knelt down to give her the strongest hug he could muster.

After a few seconds of hesitation, Amy hugged Tails back – hard. He suddenly found it hard to breath, and had to use one hand to loosen her death grip, but Amy didn't seem to notice. She sniffled as she shoved her head into his shoulder, and began to haltingly speak.

"I'm... I'm always trying so, _so_ hard to be with Sonic, and he never, _ever_ returns my feelings. I work so hard, trying to make his life easier, and he never acknowledges my efforts. All he ever does is run away!"

Tails sighed. Instead of the horrible string of possible events that had been going through his head, the problem had turned out to be a quarrel with Sonic. Not that it was any normal quarrel, of course; he's never seen Amy so badly hurt before. But when it came to troubles with Sonic, Tails knew the hedgehog better than anybody else.

Amy continued to speak. "He runs, and runs, and I wanted him to stop and speak to me, but I was wrong. So wrong! It was so much better when he was running and I was chasing!"

Tails perked his ears at this. Had Sonic finally given an answer to Amy, and rejected her? He could see why she would be hurt so badly, especially since Sonic could be shockingly insensitive.

"Amy," Tails said as he continued to hug the pink girl, "Tell me what happened. I'll listen, and I promise, I promise _no matter what_, I won't judge you."

Amy continued to sniffle and grind her face into Tails' shoulder, but she began to hesitantly speak, in a voice tinged with pain and guilt. "I went to Sonic's house today, like always. When he wasn't there, I decided to go inside, because I'd never been in there, you see. Since there was nothing there, I was really curious about the stuff that, that was there. So I picked one of the albums up, and it had pictures of you and Sonic in some sort of robot fighting contest."

_So he was still keeping that blasted thing. I told him to burn it!_ Tails was getting a little angry himself. _He has no right to lecture me on how I remember those people when he's wallowing in his own way!_ But he focused, and realized what had happened.

"He walked in on you, got angry, and said something he shouldn't have said, right?"

"N, No!" Amy said, her voice tight with desperation, "He said things, things that hurt me, but Sonic was right! I'm a horrible person! I'm so selfish, and he's right to hate me!"

Tails hugged her all the tighter. "Amy, you're not a selfish person. Sonic doesn't think that, and I know he doesn't hate you. Just wait till tomorrow, and we talk about this with him, and smooth it all out."

To his surprise, Tails' words seemed to inflame Amy's pain, rather than sooth it. "No, no, no! You don't understand! He said that he hated me, hated me because I never fought! He said I only fought selfishly, only thought about myself or my love for him, and never about other people! He told me about the, the, the hundred people, and how you memorized their names! He said he'd been thinking about it a lot, and that I was like you guys back then, but worse, because I didn't care! He said I didn't care, and he was right! I've never tried to be a hero, and Sonic hates me for it, he said he hates me! And he said he never wants to see me again, unless I dedicate myself like he does! He said he never wants to see me again!" And with this final statement, Amy began to sob, and cry a torrent of tears that stained Tails' fur, Amy's fur, and both of their clothes. It dripped on the streets and mixed with the grime, making a murky puddle. Amy cried and cried, unable to hold the pain in any more.

Tails was shocked, himself. He had had no idea that Sonic was harboring such resentment, had no idea he disliked Amy so much. If Sonic really did say all those things... then this wasn't something simple anymore. While Amy was certainly hurt, hurt so badly that if he didn't carefully handle her she'd shatter, Sonic was a problem too. Even if he had been telling the truth, _especially_ if he had been telling the truth, hurting Amy like that would most definitely spring back and hurt Sonic as well. He hated hurting other people, even Eggman, and knowing that he had caused such pain to Amy would drive him wild. And when Sonic was wild with pain... he disappeared.

Tails looked down to the sobbing wreck in his arms. He loved Amy, loved her as the older sister she was to him, and felt a flame of anger towards Sonic for saying such things. He didn't agree with Sonic on this one, and if the hedgehog actually stayed around, Tails wasn't sure he could prevent himself from slugging him. But there were priorities. He had to perform damage control, and prevent this situation from getting any worse.

He opened his mouth to say something to Amy, but found she had already cried herself to sleep. He flew her up to a roof top, and then retrieved his robot. He pulled out his control panel, and called for a silent transport copter to come pick him up. He was already formulating plans to help Amy recover from this, but he knew he would have to use drastic methods to prevent her from sinking into a nigh-permanent depression.

_But if I can make Amy feel better, I'm willing to do anything. Even if she hates me for it._


	2. Chapter 2

I haven't said this in the first chapter, but I will now: The fact that this story is posted on fanfiction net should say all that needs to be said about copyright.

I will NOT abandon this story. EVER. I swear this upon my pride as a writer and as an intelligent person, which means more to me than most people will realize.

I love the characters, and I love the story I'm making up. Although the fact that it's a fanfiction has been rubbing me raw, I've decided to write it anyway because, damn it, I enjoy it! but more than anything, I have had a historic problem with abandoing stories I start. I need to overcome this problem if I want to become a writer, and doing it here, where I have people who read my story and critique it (I hope there are still people reading this) is one of the best places I could be doing this. If you view it as a comparison to publishing and reviewers of that medium, not only do I get feedback from good readers, I can learn to ignore the feedback from obnoxious ones.

Also, note: as far as I know, there is no such thing as accentuated titanium. I made it up. Also Animatium - that's mine too.

* * *

For the past two years (incidentally, ever since she had returned from the alternate reality) Amy had lived in an apartment building near the center of Anse City. She had rejoiced when she had found it; positioned in what was arguably the best part of town, with close access not only to shopping centers and the Bazaar (a tradition of Anse, where people all over were able to buy and sell with no limitations beside the legality of the goods themselves), but the department store where she worked as well, it was one hell of a find. It wasn't cheap, but since she was a 'teammate' of Sonic's, Amy tended to get pretty much anything she wanted for almost nothing.

She had never abused the ability, really – the government made enough of a fuss over Tails. He submitted budgets to Elem that pretty much emptied the R&D department of all their funds! The weird thing was, he usually got what he wanted – there were many people in the government who wanted to downsize the R&D department and let Tails have all the money he needed, especially since he was getting better at making robotic weapons.

When Amy had first moved in, she had been especially impressed with the view. Every morning, she woke up fast and early, and every morning, she was greeted by the cheery rays of the sun. It had made her life a little bit brighter, and when you live in the shadow of heroes, it's hard to find that kind of brightness.

Today was different, though. On this especially fine morning, Amy was wishing she was in the darkest corner of the deepest of basements, and that she had never found this accursedly bright apartment. To say the 'cheery' rays of the sun offended her would be akin to saying Eggman 'just wanted a piece of land to call his own'.

Amy had woken up hours before the sun rose; her nightmares had prevented her from getting any satisfactory amount of sleep. While she had lain in her bed, at once blinded and comforted by the night, she had let her mind wander, bouncing off painful areas like a lily on rapids.

She thought of the pleasures that had carried her through day by day; her deep friendship with Cream, and her cautious one with Rouge. Of shopping for clothes and food, of the daily exercise that kept her in shape and a mark above the normal citizen. Of her job at the clothing superstore Alimo, and her recent promotion to floor manager – she was proud of that, despite the restlessness such a mundane routine provoked in her.

In truth, though, there were more things Amy _didn't_ think about than things she_did_. Most of her life was, in some way, connected to Sonic, and thus something to hide from. So she passed her time riding the waters of her mind, holding tight to her craft while ignoring the pain that shrouded everything. Pretending all was well, she grasped at that fragile, temporary peace called ignorance.

But the sun changed that. Where before the possibilities of the day had been something to look forward to, now they were something Amy dreaded – and with the sun shining in through the window, she could no longer pretend otherwise.

However, there are times for healing, and times for action. Amy was one of those people who, while often mistaking the second for the first, never fell victim to the rot of over-thinking their problems. She had rested her mind in the dark; now that the dark was gone, it was time to move forward.

After a few heartfelt words that she would not have repeated in company, Amy got up and made her way to the kitchen. Her body was tired from her restless sleep and ached all over – no matter what kind of resolve she carried, her life would be easier with some stimulant inside her.

She went to the coffee maker – and realized there was nothing in it. Scooping up some coffee grinds, she poured them into the appropriate slot, and then turned the machine on. Just as it started to attempt to strain the grinds, she realized she had forgotten the water; so she stopped the machine and poured some water into a different slot before turning it on again. Turning around, Amy rubbed the cute robot Chao on the head before making her way back to the bed.

_Wait, robot Chao? I don't own any robots!_

Amy turned around again, and looked closer. There was, indeed, a robot Chao on the table, sitting in standby mode. With simply constructed limbs and a face that didn't express a lot of emotion, Amy at first thought that it was a cheap model – but after she realized the chassis was made of accentuated titanium, and that the excellent technique with which it had been assembled was superior to some of the robots Eggman had put together, it was obvious that this was a high-quality robot. And not only was it well made, it had _Animatium_ coursing through tubes deeply embedded in its casing – a lot of Animatium! This robot was worth more than her entire apartment building, and she lived in an _expensive_ building!

She couldn't believe such a robot existed. Animatium, a metal so well suited to robot engineering that deposits of it were automatically considered government property upon their discovery, was incredibly expensive, and to use it in a _Chao_ Robo, a model exclusively used for secretarial purposes, was ridiculous! She had heard about Tails making robots that used it, but those were usually military models that Elem had commissioned. And, of course, she had personal experience with Eggman's uses of the metal – the E-Series robots had effective robotic brains (considering their tendency to rebel, probably too effective) that were made of Animatium, and the Metal Sonic series robots used it as well, up to the most recent model which seemed to have been somehow purely made of the substance.

It was easy to see why it was so valuable – although she didn't understand the particulars, she knew that it allowed electric signals to move anywhere in the liquid on command, and at speeds much greater than allowed by any other metal. In addition, the range of temperature in which it stayed a liquid was extremely convenient, as there were very few environments or situations in which cooling or heating was needed. It was pretty much required for robots with more advanced forms of AI, and it raised the question – what kind of person needed a secretary with the computing power to run a city?

She put her hand on it, cautiously – who knew what kind of defensive measures would be installed in a robot this expensive, secretary or not? When nothing happened, she tensed up, got ready to run if necessary, and poked it.

It rolled over on its back.

When nothing else happened, Amy got out from under the table and examined it more closely. Now that it was no longer sitting upright, she could see there was a button on its stomach. For a moment, she debated tossing it out of the window – but Amy was feeling very curious. Besides, investigating this little phenomena was keeping her mind mind off... other topics.

So she pressed the button. She was relieved that instead of blowing up (the fact that you'd have to be insane to place a self-destruct device in a model this expensive hadn't eased her fears in the slightest – whoever had made this thing clearly did not listen to common logic) it began to start up. The Animatium became a stream of metallic blood flowing through silver veins, and various lights positioned all over the robot's body began to flash on and off in a seemingly haphazard and random pattern. Its limbs began to move, and it began to stand on legs that were little more than rounded pieces of metal. How it accomplished this Amy didn't understand, but it seemed to to have no trouble with the task.

Then it opened its eyes and, in the most disgustingly cute voice Amy had ever heard, said, "Good morning, Amy!"

Amy visibly flinched. The sound not only antagonized a brain that still felt sodden from her lack of sleep, but inflamed the part of her that said 'anything that cute is _unnatural and not to be trusted!_' She clasped her hands over her ears and glared at the irritating piece of junk. The only reason she didn't do it harm was because it was an_expensive_ piece of junk.

"Okay," Amy said, her teeth grinding together in annoyance, "First, you're either going to change your voice to make it more bearable, or you're not going to speak."

"I don't take orders from you." It maintained its horrible tone, with derision jarringly added to the mix.

Amy massaged her temples, half to help the pain and half to prevent herself from using her hands in a more violent manner. "You know who I am, right? You wouldn't be in my room and know my name if you didn't"

"Yes, I am very well informed about you. More so than you are, I would say."

_Jeez, it's arrogant! This thing _has_ to be one of Tails' inventions!_

"Then you know that even Eggman is wary of my temper. And you know what?" Amy put a hand on the robot's head, and squeezed as hard as she could – the metal began to groan in protest. "I'm in a _very_ bad mood right now."

"Yes, I can see that." While it was still held an arrogant tone, the robot had changed its voice – to one suited to the most grizzled of war veterans. While disturbing coming from such a small 'creature', it was better than the unholy cuteness, and Amy released the robot.

"Second, you're going to tell me who or what you are, and explain why you're here." Amy found a chair and sat down, crossing her arms on her chest.

"I am a Chao Robo, and I'm here because Tails ordered me to be here."

Amy clenched her fists, doing her best to hold in her anger. "_Why_ are you being so damn difficult? What did I do to deserve this? Can this day get _any_ worse?"

The robot promptly responded. "Because I choose to, because you're a selfish bitch, and with a little help, certainly."

There was probably something deep and meaningful about a robot choosing to be an asshole. Amy was too busy tossing the damn thing out the window to care.

Unfortunately, it flew right back in using some sort of anti-gravity. With a shout that was more of a muffled scream of rage, Amy grabbed her signature hammer and ran at the the robot, who promptly went back out the window. Amy was momentarily frustrated by her inability to reach the source of her anger, but then thought of something

"Tails told you to be here, in my room, right? Being outside that window doesn't fulfill that order, does it!" She smiled at her logical victory. Score one for the biologicals!

"It's good enough. My self-preservation coding demands a certain amount of precedence."

Amy growled, then slammed the window shut and locked it. Almost immediately, there was a banging on the glass as the robot used its short arms to knock with surprising force. Amy ignored this as best she could.

A muffled voice came through the window. "I can break this if I need to. Let's not make this more difficult than it has to be."

Veins started popping out of Amy's forehead. "Diffi-! What kind of twisted logic allows you to make that statement!?"

"I wasn't trying to make things difficult. I was trying to cheer you up."

"Cheer me up? By what, driving me insane?"

"Sort of."

Amy gripped the windowsill tightly and considered taking the thing by surprise by tossing her hammer out the window, but she knew that Tails would not have left this thing here without a good reason. Besides, there was a good chance it would dodge the attack, and she didn't want to lose her hammer. Sighing, she opened the window, and the robot zoomed in.

Amy sat down, once again, and placed her hands on the table. Forcing herself to be calm, she said, "You're here for a purpose. Fulfill that purpose, please."

"Why would I do that, when it's so much more fun to annoy you?"

Amy did nothing, and simply sat still. It was a herculean feat, but she had a feeling that this robot would be forced to fulfill its instructions if she didn't give it a reason to do otherwise.

Indeed, the robot seemed to be disappointed, even annoyed at her lack of response. Somehow twisting its simple face into a scowl, it settled back down onto the table.

"Fine then, be that way. Well, the reason I'm here is to give you an offer. Tails wants to help you, and I'm here to give you the details."

Amy was confused. "Help me? Help me with what?"

"See! Making you furious _did_ help! You've completely forgotten about your problems!"

"Oh, yeah." Amy _had_ forgotten about the night before, completely, but now it came back, and her depression as well. She bowed her head and sighed. "How can Tails help me with something like that?"

The robot stood a little straighter as it seemed to get serious. "Tails proposes this: You have three acceptable choices right now. One is that you forget about Sonic and live your life as a normal citizen. That means you cease all activities besides the day-to-day ones you already do, and cease contact with Sonic – or Rouge, or Knuckles,or Tails himself. Tails does not think living like a normal citizen suits you well. He would also miss you."

Amy smiled. _I would miss you, too._

"The second and third choices are things that he can help you with, and offers to do so. You can either take up Sonic's challenge, and become someone that he can respect, or you can strike out on your own and find a purpose in life different from anything you have done before. Either way, Tails offers to help you fulfill what goal you decide to pursue, and he promises not to judge you no matter what you choose. The only thing he will _not_ accept is you becoming self-destructive. He just wants to make sure your life moves forward, and that you can be happy."

Amy sat back and thought about what the robot had said. While she didn't think she had to worry about being self-destructive – there were too many people who were doing her harm already for Amy to want to hurt herself – all of Tails' other choices were either unappetizing or intimidating. While Amy herself thought that she was unsuited for life as a normal citizen (she had long ago realized any work she did was temporary, no matter what kind of promotions and benefits she got) it was at least something she knew. Trying to become something that Sonic could identify with – she didn't know if that was possible for her, or even if she truly _wanted_ to become such a thing. As for finding a _different_ goal, well... she wasn't sure if there was anything else she was interested in, or even good at. Her life had been sort of aimless before she had met Sonic, and entirely focused on her love after that point.

When the robot realized Amy wasn't going to respond, it continued. "Tails understands that you probably won't be able to answer immediately, or even in the near future. He wants you to know this – while you may not have confidence in your fighting ability, especially after what Sonic said to you, you _are_ quite skilled at hurting others. So, if you choose the second or third choices he has outlined, you will probably be relying on that skill to accomplish your goals. To that end, he wants you to take him up on his offer to help you, if only for a brief period to see what it's like."

Amy frowned. _I'm not sure if 'being good at hurting others' is a compliment or an insult._ "What kind of help is he offering?"

"He want to help you become stronger, help you utilize your skill at fighting more efficiently. He says that, even if you don't realize it, a part of you wants to utilize that skill – if only because it _is_ something you're good at. Regardless of your desire, though, he thinks that since you have this strength, you should use it. He is_not_ agreeing with what Sonic said – rather than tell you how to use your strength, he just wants you to fulfill the potential you have."

Amy sighed, and once again found her hands on her forehead. All this thinking was making her head hurt. "If I accept, what does that mean?"

"He wants you to come to his research lab, if only to see your choices."

Amy nodded sluggishly, hoping the coffee would be brewed soon. "Then yes, I'll go see what he has to offer."

The robot, however, wasn't that patient. "Alright then, you need to go to the roof. There's a helicopter waiting for you up there."

Amy glowered at the robot. "I know where Tails' lab is. I can get there on my own! After I have my coffee."

"But that'll take _forever!_" it replied, rolling an eye that hadn't been designed to roll.

Amy shivered. This robot was... unnatural, in so many ways. "It's only a two hour drive!"

"Exactly! The helicopter will get you there in fifteen minutes - don't be a fool, just go up to the roof and use it!"

Amy grumbled, but the robot was right. Tails was offering her help in the first place – being picky about _how_ he offered it was just stupid. Tails would definitely have coffee at the lab, or at least some strange alternative that would get the job done. So, she walked up to the roof and, just as the robot said, there was a helicopter there waiting for her – a futuristic one with strange attachments added on here and there. It was pretty obvious that it was one of Tails' inventions, which would explain the short travel time the robot had bragged about. She didn't complain, though; at the very least, it looked like she would actually get some use out of the helicopter pad on this luxurious apartment building!

Unfortunately, the robotic imp decided to accompany her. It flew into the helicopter before she could stop it, and proceeded to relieve the pilot (who was also a robot) of his duties. When it hooked itself into the control grid, Amy knew something was wrong. She asked the previous pilot, who was now seated across from her, how long the trip usually took.

"Approximately forty-five minutes," it replied in monotone.

Amy opened her mouth to ask about the discrepancy between the pilot's estimate and the imp's claims, but the helicopter was coming off the ground. It flew up and forward, until it was no longer above the apartment building.

Then it dropped like a stone.

Amy screamed. She cursed the curiosity that had caused her to activate what surely must be one of Eggman's traps in disguise. She cursed the robot pilot for stupidly handing over the controls to that evil contraption. She cursed Tails for not properly taking care of her. She cursed him again, just in case the imp actually _was_ one of his inventions. She used every swear word she knew, and was finally starting to get into the good ones when her downward momentum was halted.

The pressure doing funny things to her insides, it took Amy a moment to realize that they were no longer falling down, they were flying _forward!_ As she was pressed into her seat by the sudden acceleration, Amy ceased cursing and began thanking whatever gods had given Tails the idea to put jet engines on a helicopter. She would never tease the fox about his wild ideas again.

Clearly, the imp had decided to have some more fun with her. Unfortunately, Amy could do nothing about it – she was stuck where she was as the the 'helicopter' streaked down the streets, dodging between buildings and grazing cars on the road. Screams trailed behind them as people leaped out of moving vehicles, causing mass chaos and stopping traffic entirely.

When they arrived at Tails' lab on the other side of the city, (in fifteen minutes, just as promised) the helicopter landed down on another helipad. The small, concrete, bunker-like building, which Amy knew was much bigger underground, had few apparent entrances. There was the wide front door, which was protected by a thick steel shutter, as well as the side entrance which Amy usually used when she visited Tails. There was also a trap door on the roof, which was obviously for the convenience of those arriving by helicopter. Of course, there were probably a dozen other entrances which were either hidden for security purposes, or only opened when something big, like a jet plane or a large robot, needed to get out of the lower depths.

Since this lab was in the city, Tails never did anything _too_ dangerous here. He had another lab in the middle of nowhere that Amy had never been to, but this one was government funded – it was much bigger and much more well equipped.

Amy leaped out of the helicopter before it even completely settled and began searching for the imp, but it had somehow already disappeared. Her revenge thwarted once again, she sullenly opened the trapdoor and went down the steps, searching for any sign of Tails whereabouts.

While walking down a concrete corridor lit by florescent lights, carpeted in a utilitarian gray fuzz that was hardly better than bare concrete in terms of comfort, and critically lacking in open windows, Amy heard Tails' voice come out of hidden speakers. "Hey, Amy, thanks for coming! I'm deeper in – meet me on floor B5. I've given you clearance."

Amy blinked in surprise, but headed for the elevator. Although she was familiar with the main floor thanks to her frequent visits, she had never been underground where the labs were. The government was pretty strict about who had access to Tails' work, and while Amy was a friend, she had never been in the 'need to know' group.

The main floor was mainly Tails' living quarters, as well as a few meeting rooms and presentation chambers. The elevator was right in the center, and would have been easy to get to if Amy hadn't been wandering around in search of the fox; the place was practically a maze if you strayed from the main corridors. As she walked back the way she had come, she reflected on Tails' sense of style, or lack of it. Everything was either concrete or carpet, further bleached of color by the incessant florescent lights. The only bits of interest came from the cheap paintings that spotted the walls once in a while, which did more to accent the bareness than anything else. Personally, Amy felt it was a shame that Tails managed to requisition all that money and yet never used it to liven the place up; she'd have to do something about that. He could be unhealthily focused on his work at times, and it was her duty as surrogate older sister to remind him to live a little every once in a while.

She finally found the elevator and pressed the call button. She could hear a pneumatic hiss as it rose from some deep depth at incredible speed, and when the doors opened she was greeted with the first bit of Tails' lab she had never seen before. The elevator was pretty much just a thick grilling attached to a steel frame, with a large metal column running through the center. It seemed to move up and down on the column, and hand holds were plastered everywhere so that the people inside wouldn't go flying around when it accelerated. There were a few plastic seats on one side, and even a compact table to strap things to.

Amy pressed the button for floor B5, and grabbed a handhold as the elevator jerked down. In less than a second, she had descended almost thirty feet – she could tell by the way the walls flashed by. The strange thing was, it was as gentle as a normal elevator – there was hardly a need to hold on to anything. Another mystery to attribute to Tails' genius; as the doors opened, she wondered how much more would amaze her before she left?

The decor would definitely not be part of that: the corridor Amy stepped out into was even more stark than the main floor, lacking even the carpet or crappy paintings. She walked down its length, which was uninterrupted by doors, until she came to a branching corridor – as she passed, she caught sight of Tails' figure as he came out of a doorway. Waving and calling out, she got his attention, and he turned around with a smile on his face.

"Amy! It's good to see you, especially since you seem to be doing much better I had hoped!"

"I'm not the kind to give up! I'm not sure what I'm going to do from now on, but I'm going to do something!" Stamping her foot on the ground, Amy shook her fist in Tails face. "More importantly, what the hell were you thinking when you created that little monster! Do you have any idea what it did on the way here? If you don't, you'll soon find out when you get calls from city officials!"

Tails furrowed his eyebrows. "I'm terribly sorry about that. That robot is one of my experimental models – rather than program it a personality, I've let it develop one through observation and analysis. The result... hasn't been optimal."

"No kidding! It booted the pilot into the back seat and proceeded to fly the thing on full throttle through the streets! There's mass panic – I bet the people back there are convinced Eggman is attacking!"

Tails laughed nervously. "Ah, yes, it probably got the idea for that from watching me play- I mean, go through some of my simulations." His laughter trailed off, and a depressed look came onto his face. "I'll probably have to scrap the project. I had such high hopes, too – I thought I was on the verge of creating a new sentient race!"

Amy opened her mouth to berate his foolishness and arrogance and say something about the pitfalls in trying to play god, but then closed it again as she saw the truly miserable look that was on Tails' face. " You know, I don't think the fact that it's learning is the problem – I think it's what it's learning, and from who."

"I thought about that too – I'm not wild about being responsible for the ethical code of the first real independent AI either! The problem is, there's no one else with clearance into my labs, and those officials are super paranoid when it comes to this stuff. They won't let anyone else in, and they do their damnedest to minimize my work's contact with the outside world. I'm the only one who can give it input, and I'm afraid I'm not very good at it."

"Really? That's strange," Amy said with a smirk on her face, "I know someone who has clearance into your labs right at this very moment!"

Tails looked up, a shocked expression on his face. "What!? Have those bastards been going behind my back again!? And how do you know about it, when I don't?"

Amy flicked the fox on his forehead. "I'm talking about me, silly! Didn't you just say you had given me clearance to get down here?"

Tails stared at Amy, and then asked, slowly, "Are you offering to help me with my problems?"

"Of course I am! What, did you think I was just leading you along or something? I don't do that sort of stuff!" Amy gave the little scientist a light whack on the head, to remind him who his older sister was.

Tails flinched instinctively, but continued to talk. "But Amy, I can't ask you to do that! You have far too many problems of your own right now!"

"Don't be stupid! If I can't teach a little punk like that the difference between right and wrong, then I don't have any hope at all!" She pumped her arm and gave Tails her most confident smile. "Leave it to me! He'll be doing volunteer work within the week!"

She'd let her methods of persuasion remain unsaid.

Tails smiled back, but his lips were tight and there was a strange look in his eyes that she couldn't identify. After a pensive moment, he opened his mouth again.

"Amy... how can you be so strong? Sonic said possibly the worst things he could ever say to you, and you're still charging forward. Is this fearlessness all an act, or are you really strong enough to move on anyway?"

Amy looked Tails in the eye with a quirky smile. "I have no idea. All I know is that I hate doing nothing, so I'm going forward as fast as I can. My whole life has been like that – I pursue Sonic because I love him, but I also find it comforting to have such an unshakable goal. If Sonic ever disappeared for good... I'm not sure what I would do after that.

"But there is one thing that I can tell you for sure. Choice number one is unacceptable, and I'll tell you why – because you still need me, as your older sister, and I can't be with you if I'm just an ordinary citizen. Where I go from here, I'm not sure, but I'll definitely be taking you up on your offer!

"So, do we have a deal? You help me figure out what I want to do now, and I'll help you tame the imp. I think that's an equal trade, don't you?"

Amy held out her hand, and Tails hesitated only a moment before taking it in his own. They looked at each other, and grinned.

"I'm definitely getting the better deal here!" Tails began to laugh, and the tension he had been holding in drained away. "I was going to have the robot help you in your training, but your relationship might become a bit too volatile now that you'll be in charge of his education!"

Amy's grin widened, and a dangerous look came into her eyes. "Oh, I think that's a great idea. I've already thought up a few great lessons in... discipline." She began to walk down the corridor Tails had come from, chuckling to her self and throwing back questions about the what, where, and why of her training to Tails.

Tails stood for a moment, unable to stop smiling. Quietly, he murmured, "Hedgehogs... I still can't fathom how you work, even after all these years. Maybe watching you, Amy, will allow me to understand a little bit more." His wistful introspection was interrupted as she called for him to hurry up, and he rushed forward to give her a tour of the lab.


	3. Chapter 3

And here is chapter 3. Enjoy! (I hope)

* * *

The fifth basement of Tails' lab was, officially, dedicated to 'the testing and analysis of sentients that have the capability to perform above the norm.' In actuality, it was little more than Sonic's private playground. He had asked Tails for a place where, 'I can run at max speed, with lots of distractions, and... stuff. You know, so it's actually difficult.' Tails had, of course, reworded it when he presented the idea to the Elem R&D board, and the result was a place where Sonic, or Amy, could do pretty much any sort of exercise imaginable while being examined by top-of-the-line observation equipment. 

That was what Tails had told her as they started the tour of the floor. As they headed out of the medical section and headed deeper into the lab, Tails began to elaborate on Amy's situation.

"You've been given clearance up to floor B5 here, so that means you can access floors B1 through B4, as well. This place was designed so that the lower you go, the more sensitive it is and the higher clearance you need – I've had to reorder entire floors to make sure it stays that way, but when you're at war, certain precautions are necessary. It only happened once, but Eggman drilled into this place, and the only reason I was able to stop him before he did any serious damage was because of the way the floors are ordered.

"Anyway, you can access the first four floors whenever you want, for as long as you're here. B1 is pretty much just more living quarters, but there are there are a bunch of facilities you might want to use. You'll probably find the medical center useful, as it can produce a lot of stuff on the fly, like sleep-aids or vitamins. I especially enjoy the entertainment center, which can support not only 2D images, but experience immersion equipment or even holograms.

"In any case, feel free to use B1 as you please. I don't live there, I just use some of the facilities, so you won't have to worry about privacy problems. As for B2, B3, and B4, they are labs in and of themselves. You probably won't be too interested in them – B2 is a simple assembly plant, B3 is a sort of forward security center, and B4 is my private equipment lab. I also like to call it my 'Toy Factory'."

Tails smiled wickedly before continuing. "You might have use for B4 sometime in the future, but I'd stay out of it right now – there are other things you should focus on right now."

Amy frowned at his vagueness. This was important stuff, here! "What do you mean?"

To her annoyance, Tails dismissed her question with a wave of his hand. "I'll get to that eventually, hold your horses. Anyway, when it comes to these underground labs there's no real upper limit to floor size; thanks to all the unowned property around here, I can pretty much make them as big as I want and no one can complain. B5 is one of the biggest, but it's nowhere near as complicated, or sensitive, as some of the ones lower down. There's a floor below us where the only area you can walk is five by five feet – the rest of the floor is entirely submersed in an electrolyte solution. There's another one where conditions are so dangerous that I can't actually enter the floor – everything there has to be done by remote."

Realizing he was getting off track, Tails shook his head. "Now, while you may be here because I offered to help you out, that's not enough for the government to give you clearance. Well, it is in one way, but it's certainly not out of charity. As I mentioned, this floor was constructed with two purposes in mind – to give Sonic a challenge, and to observe him overcoming those challenges. Now, the government in Elem is letting you in here because they consider you an investment – Shadow and Sonic are the only other hedgehogs we know of, and they've both been strong assets against Eggman – but there is another reason.

"When Sonic was here, I was able to learn much about how he does what he does by watching him. However, there are still many mysteries – mysteries which the government of Elem want solved. So, I'll be watching your growth and recording as much information as I can."

Amy glared at Tails. "I'm not your test subject, Tails! Did you offer to help me just so you could study me?"

Tails shook his head and waved his hands, disconcerted by Amy's anger. "Not at all! Have some faith in me, would you? I'm doing this because I care about you, and want to prove to you what Sonic said is wrong. The whole testing thing is mainly to satisfy the government – I couldn't just let you use these facilities on a whim, you know. It won't be intrusive. You'll just go through a full medical checkup everyday, and your abilities will be assessed regularly. Otherwise, you won't even notice."

Amy shook her head. "It's the principal of the thing, Tails!"

Tails looked at Amy pleadingly. "Please, I'm not asking for much. If it helps, I would have done a good amount of what they're asking on my own – I'm not exactly sure what the best way to help a hedgehog is, so I'd need to do tests to figure it out. It'll hardly inconvenience you. Just, consider it part of the payment – I help you get stronger, you let me examine you. Please?"

Amy could feel her resistance breaking down, but she stubbornly refused to let up. "We already made a deal, didn't we?"

"That was just for the trial period. Didn't you yourself say that you would have him reformed within the week? For the trade to be equal, I would only offer you training for that period, and this is going to last much longer than that."

Amy cringed. _Trapped by my own words! Damn it! _"Fine! I'll let you conduct your damn tests!"

Tails beamed. "Thank you, Amy! I really appreciate your cooperation!" Only the barest tinge of sarcasm could be detected in his voice.

As they continued walking, Amy noticed that they were going through a set of glass-walled labs with different sets of equipment in each one, all of it inscrutable to Amy. Each one seemed custom made, and none bore any kind of manufacturer's symbol.

"Where are we right now, Tails?"

"Oh, this is still part of the medical area. Since this lab is really dedicated to observing, and hopefully reproducing, the traits of super-sentients, a large amount of biology equipment is necessary. Since it's not really my specialty, I asked the R&D department to make them for me – they come up with some nice stuff every once in a while."

Amy looked at Tails amusedly. "Only once in a while?"

He nodded. "Yeah, usually they're pretty incompetent – at least, compared to me."

Amy sighed. She wanted to refute Tails, but he was probably right. The Elem R&D department was actually quite famous for going to extreme lengths to try and best Tails, and always failing. She vividly remembered when they had tried to devise a vehicle that was faster than any of Tails inventions, and had tested it in the middle of the city in order to prove it to everyone. The sonic boom had shattered the windows in almost every skyscraper in Anse, and the burn marks the rockets had left in the asphalt had required the entire road to be replaced. And it _still_ been too slow.

She would have said something about his humility, but Tails seemed oblivious to the arrogance of his statement – he just continued speaking as if there was nothing wrong with what he had said. "I won't ever ask you to come here – just, when I take a blood sample or something, this is where it'll be analyzed."

Amy didn't like the sound of that. "You won't need to take blood samples very often, will you?"

"Oh no. They'll definitely be a lot of blood sampling. That reminds me – try not to get injured, or give blood, or anything like that. With all the exercise I'll be putting you through, a little blood loss might require you to rest for a day, and waiting for you to recover would really mess up my schedule."

_'Waiting for me to recover'. Can't he put a _little _emotion into it? _Amy sighed, wondering what she was getting into.

They quickly got through that small section and, as he led Amy into a large room, Tails showed her the first piece of 'equipment' she was going to be using. It was a wide cylinder about ten feet high and fifteen feet in diameter, rising through the floor with a spoke-like object in the center. Amy took a double take when Tails said it would be her running track.

He continued to explain. "The machine in the center is a gravity manipulator – something I developed some years back. I never found an effective way of implementing it outside of a laboratory, so I just use it to make stuff like this. Anyway, when you step inside the cylinder, the gravity manipulator will make the inside of the shell your running track – no matter where you stand in that ring, it'll always be 'down' to you. Every time you step forward, gravity will readjust itself to your new position – suffice to say, it acts like a flat surface despite its curvature. I can also rotate the the shell at great speeds in either direction, allowing me to test both how fast you can go and how much speed you can take. You'll be using this machine the most, at least at the beginning of your training."

Amy's bewilderment showed clearly on her face. "What the heck is wrong with a treadmill?"

Tails shook his head. "There are many things wrong with a treadmill. Mainly, the friction tended to destroy them if I tried to make them match Sonic's speed, even if I spent an exorbitant amount of money on the materials. You might not be _that_ fast right now, but I'm certain you'll get there soon enough."

Amy stood still, still trying to wrap her mind around the idea of using gravity manipulation to make a_running_ track, but Tails led her back into the hall, and took her to a room across the way. Here there were several metal rods, with a rubber covering on their lower halves, coming out of the floor.

"This place is also one you will become familiar with. When you practice here, the floor will become covered with water and electrical current will be pumped through it, giving you a firm incentive to stand on the rods. However, the rods themselves will sink as you stand on them – how fast that is is up to me. The rubber coating on the bottom will prevent them from immediately becoming conductive, but if don't quickly jump to another one you'll get shocked. I can also set how fast they come back up, allowing me to force you to plan where and when you jump in advance. In essence, it's basic agility training that will leave you both resistant to electricity and with a higher pain threshold."

Amy gave Tails an incredulous look. "Electrical shocks? You can't be serious!"

Tails cracked a grin and didn't seem the least bit surprised by her opposition to the idea. "Don't look so 'shocked'! I don't see 'watt' you're so angry about, at your 'current' level of 'power', you'll face almost no 'resistance'! Besides, I'm not 'ohm'-niscient – this is the best I could come up with!"

Amy just stared at him. "How long did you spend thinking those up before hand?"

Tails just giggled. "C'mon, admit it! They were funny!"

"No. No, they weren't. I have never seen such a display of nerdiness in my entire life."

The fox sniffed. "My robots laughed."

"I'm _guessing_ because you_ programmed _them to. Seriously Tails, _get a life._"

"Anyway," Tails said quickly, "you'll only get hurt if you slip up, and I have plenty of ways to treat electrical burns and and the like. There's a lot to be said for harsh training methods like this – just ask the bulls!"

"The bull race is _extinct_, exactly _because _they were such masochists! I remember my history, Tails – their standing army was attacked the day after a festival, when they were all incapacitated from their self-inflicted injuries!"

"But _damn_ if their training wasn't effective!" Tails said enthusiastically, ignoring Amy's incredulity. "Have you seen some of the stuff their scientists came up with? Thanks to the famous volcano heat training, they had infantry equipped with portably magma-launchers – a thousand years ago! And all it took was a little discomfort!"

Amy was about to comment on how 'discomfort' was really open to interpretation, but Tails was already whisking her out the doorway and into the next room on their tour. As they rushed past several doors, Amy wondered if he was limiting her experience to the things she would be using. After her rejection of his idea of 'agility training', she could fathom what he was hiding – rooms even more dangerous than the previous one. She felt torn between curiosity and fear; it would have to be pretty nasty for it to be worse than repeated electric shock. Tails' medical technology seemed advanced enough that he could consider even fairly serious wounds as trivial matters to get around.

Ironically, the next room was exceedingly tame. All it was was a bunch of weight lifting equipment. Amy sighed in relief as Tails explained the room, and didn't really bother to listen to what he was saying. How complicated could it-

Her head whipped around. "Did you just say they explode?"

Tails looked at her, amused once more. "Yes, I did. I was just kidding; why would I make you use exploding weights? Good to know you're listening, though!"

Amy growled, but kept her attention on what Tails was saying as he continued his explanation. He didn't make any more 'jokes', and the weights were like every other weight set Amy had ever used, but he made several references to a more advanced weight set that Amy might be using. Considering that weights like these had ceased being a challenge a year ago told Amy that she might be using these 'advanced' weights sooner than Tails thought, but she kept her mouth shut. It wasn't a good idea to underestimate Tails or his inventions, so for all Amy knew they might be a lot heavier than they looked.

Next on the tour, and according to Tails the final piece of equipment she would be using for now, was an obstacle course. The most confusing amalgam of dangerous objects Amy had ever seen, it was worse than the agility training by far, but she could at least appreciate the reason it was so dangerous – it WAS an obstacle course, after all.

"I'm not going to explain each individual obstacle because surprise is an important element and it would take forever, but I will tell you that this course is made of interchangeable blocks. I can switch and rearrange them as I wish, and there are two more courses worth of blocks in reserve, meaning I'll be keeping you on your toes for a while."

Amy sighed, but decided to accept her fate. Tails wasn't psychotic or anything, just imaginative. She had trusted him with he life before – she could do it again. Besides, that couldn't possible be _real_ acid. The bubbling effect was just for show, she was sure; it looked totally fake. Real acid wasn't so thick and sticky-looking, nor did it occasionally belch clouds of black smoke.

Actually, she was starting to hope it_ was_ acid.

After they left the obstacle course behind them, it took only a few minutes for them to complete the circle and make it back to the medical section. "Well, that's all the facilities you'll be using. There's more in the future, but I'm saving the more combat-oriented lessons for last. Right now, you'll just be enhancing your fitness. There's only one more thing I need from you today, but it's pretty important: your first medical examination."

Tails led her into a room with an daunting canister right in the center, large enough to fit an elephant (A sentient one, not one from earth – Amy had been shocked at how big the alternate universe's animals had been. Although they were the largest land animals that existed in both worlds, a sentient elephant was only a little bigger than a sentient crocodile). There were a lot of needles, straps, and other unsavory objects attached to the inside.

Tails placed a reassuring hand on Amy's shoulder. "Don't be intimidated – it's just a really efficient medical robot. It'll do all the work that needs to be done, and you'll only feel pain for second. That'll be when it injects the numbing solution into your blood stream." He guided her toward the object. "Please, step inside."

As Amy did so, with reservations held at bay only by the knowledge that she could demolish the tin can if she really wanted to – well, she _hoped_ she could – the straps wound around her arms, legs, waist, and head of their own will. She tensed up, panicking slightly. A prick on her arm as a needle pierced her skin, and a sharper sting as it injected something into her, alarmed her even further – but then her sense of touch completely disappeared, and she relaxed. She felt no pain, and her worries evaporated away; as more needles pierced her unfeeling skin, as electrodes were attached to her head and periodically all over her body, and as sensors analyzed her from every angle, Amy felt only contentment and an apathetic immobility.

"Now Amy," Tails said after the drug had kicked in, "I've been waiting to ask this question as you seem fine, but how have you been handling your hangover?"

"Oh," Amy said unhurriedly, "I never get hangovers, no matter how much I drink."

Tails looked up, startled. "What? What!? You never get hangovers? No matter how much you drink? _That wasn't your first time drinking!?_ What exactly have you been doing when I'm not around!?"

Her fuzzy apathy convincing her that it was okay to tell Tails such a big secret, Amy closed her eyes as she pulled the memory to the surface. "A year ago or so, Knuckles offered me some beer during one of our meetings."

"Meetings?" Tails asked, interrupting."

"Yeah, meetings. Every once in a while, every couple of months or so, we get together. Usually we just complain about things that bug us – me about Sonic, and him about his lonely duties, the incessant stream of thieves, and his strange relationship with Rouge. Anyway, I drank the beer down, and since it didn't really do anything, quite a few more as well – according to Knuckles, I handle my alcohol very well. Anyway, when I woke up the next morning Knuckles was the only one with a headache – I was completely fine. I asked a doctor about it once, and he said that I apparently am immune to poisons of any kind, including alcohol."

Tails almost dropped his pad in disbelief. "What kind of quack would make a discovery like that and not tell anyone about it!?"

"Well, he's actually really good. He's a bear, and he works and lives in this small apartment on the edge of town. He never treats normal problems, or something – he refused to see me regularly, no matter how much I offered."

"A bear... Where have I heard that before?" Tails tried to think back, but his life, full of machines and war and budget bargaining, had no room for something like the name of a reclusive doctor. He turned to Amy again. "So, you've been continuing to drink? Has this always been with Knuckles, or on separate occasions?"

"It's always with Knuckles. We don't drink much – the only reason I know my tolerance is so high is because we had a drinking contest once. I won, of course – ever since then, he gets touchy if I have more than him, so we've been keeping it light."

Tails felt like laughing. _The blackmail potential of this information is astounding. To think, not only does the gruff, unfeeling Guardian of the Master Emerald lose to Amy in drinking contests, but has whining sessions with said hedgehog about his job and lack of a love life. He's _damn_ lucky I have no interest in the Master Emerald right now, or I'd have him move that little temple of his into my lab!_

As numbers from the examination began to pour in, Tails started to do some math. "So, you're _immune_ to poison? Can you think of any examples of this immunity?"

"Well, last night that bartender tried to slip something into my alcohol – I assume the reason he sent that croc after me was because it wasn't working. Can't really blame him, though – what else are you supposed to do when someone knocks out your bouncers and demands free drinks?" She looked pensive, or as much as she could in her lackadaisical state of mind. "I suppose that was wrong of me – but then, if he _had_ poisons to resort to, then he kinda deserved it. Anyway, I've also noticed a few times when everyone else who ate the same food as me got food poisoning, but I didn't have any problems – until the doctor told me otherwise, I just thought I was lucky."

"Hmm..." Tails put the plastic stylus he had been using in his mouth and began to chew it, as more and more information appeared on his board. Muscle mass, muscle density, x-ray charts, bone density – put it all together and some interesting stuff became apparent, but he needed more information.

"Amy," he said, still looking at the board, "You are immune to poisons, which indicates a strong digestive system, but is there anything else that is... unusual about you?"

"Well, I've always been strong. I don't have big muscles or anything, but I've always been stronger than everyone else, even when I was a kid. I can lift really big weights without tearing anything – actually, now that I think about it, I'm pretty tough, too. It's pretty rare for something to be anything more than a bruise, even when I'm fighting."

Tails stared at the figures. What Amy was saying fit with the theory that was forming in his head – but it was _really_ strange. Not that it was impossible, or even improbable – no, the fact that it hadn't even been _noticed_ was what was bizarre.

"Well Amy, I think I have an explanation. Your liver is unusually dense and large, which seems to be the reason you have an immunity to poisons, although it doesn't explain everything. There are some anomalies in several parts of your body connected to your major veins, and that might very well explain the rest. Your lungs seem to be abnormally small, at least compared to Sonic's... If I recall, you're not a terribly good at endurance running, right Amy? This might explain that as well. Oh, and the painkiller I used on you is working is because it's specifically designed to mask itself within the bloodstream, so your liver doesn't recognize it as an impurity – but otherwise, most poisons would be quickly removed from your system. Anyway, your toughness is because your cells are strong and resilient, especially the ones in your bones and muscles. _Why_ you have these qualities, I have no idea – nor do the qualities I've mentioned explain why you've become as strong as you have. In order to become stronger, muscles need to grow in size – while I have heard of creatures with a strength potential as high as yours, they're always much bigger, both in body size and in their muscle volume. While extremely dense muscle could theoretically compensate for you lack of volume, you have no signs of this. It's simply not possible for muscle to become stronger without adding mass to them – at least, that's what I thought before seeing you, because you've managed it! Well, both Sonic and Knuckles have slightly similar qualities, but I assumed them to be products of their contact with the Chaos Emeralds."

Tails was rhythmically tapping his stylus on the edge of the board in his hand, a concerned look on his face. "To be honest, I have absolutely no idea how you can exist – the liver and the cells are both explainable, if exotic, but your muscles are a paradox. The only thing I can think of would be the material the muscles are made of itself changing, but there's no sign of that, either..."

Amy just smiled. If Metal Sonic had walked through the door right then, she would probably have smiled at it, too.

"I'll have to analyze this data more throughly, and conduct more tests at a later date, but for now you are free to go!" Tails toughed a button on his control board, and one last needle poked Amy. It contained the antidote for the painkiller he had administered beforehand; with all of the needle work having been done in a small area on her arm, a localized anesthetic along with a bandage (a purple one with cute skulls plastered all over it, Tails had decided on a whim) would make sure Amy felt no lingering pain. After the clean-up work was done, the straps released her, and Amy stumbled forward.Quickly recovering her senses, Amy blinked her eyes. She started to absorb everything that had been said while she was out of it; while her memory was fine, the emotional impact of the conversation had not been transfered, and she had to go through the memory once to truly experience it. Her face grew serious as she thought about the whole muscle thing, but decided to set it aside for later – when she would have someone to discuss it with.

Then the reality of what _she_ had said came back to her, and she blushed slightly. "Umm... that stuff about Knuckles was kinda... confidential. Promise you won't tell anyone, okay?"

Tails just smiled. "Oh, I won't tell a soul." _I don't need to talk to anyone. I'm perfectly capable of asking Knuckles for favors on my own._

Amy look relieved. "Good! He doesn't need rumors about him to pop up, not on top of everyone getting pissed whenever his island drifts over their country. I wouldn't want his job. Would you want his job, Tails?" She laughed a little, nervously. She had promised Knuckles she wouldn't tell anyone about their meetings, and whether or not Tails ever told anyone, she had broken that promise. That didn't sit well with her – breaking promises was Sonic's forte, not hers!

Tails nodded absentmindedly, but when he didn't move his eyes from the board in his hands, Amy concluded he was already in a different world. It was time to leave. Well, she had work to do, in any case – she wanted to take a look at the living quarters on B1, in case she decided to take advantage of them. After that, she would need to tell her boss that she wouldn't be available for awhile – or would she be quitting? Maybe she should start packing her stuff, in case she needed to move. And she was going to meet Rouge today, as well. So much stuff to do...

As he heard the elevator hiss as it went up, Tails thought about what he had learned today. Amy had caught him by surprise; while he knew she had had potential, he had never imagined _this_. Sonic and Knuckles had shown similarly exotic traits, and he imagined Shadow would as well, but they were all special cases – he only got a chance to really examine Sonic after he had had numerous encounters with the Chaos Emeralds, Knuckles had lived his entire live in the presence of the Master Emerald, and Shadow was genetically engineered to be the ultimate life form – none were free from some sort of genetic taint.

Amy had not been affected by outside forces, though. She was the closest thing Tails had to an average member of the hedgehog race – and she was far from average. What this said about the hedgehog race was interesting, in an academic way, but Tails was really looking forward to seeing Amy fulfill her potential. He didn't know if she would really _appreciate_ the gifts given to her, since she might decide not to use them at all, but that wasn't his choice – it was Amy's. All he could was help her be the best person she could be.

Which reminded him, he would have to increase Amy's training regimen. By a lot. He didn't think she would like it, but some of the more dangerous exercises would become necessary. As he wandered off to look at the machines in hopes of some sort of inspiration, he pondered where he should draw the line.

_Boulders sound good, but how heavy should I make them? I'll have to make plans so that I can properly test her strength – it could quickly grow beyond the facilities I have in place. I'll have her practice dodging as well - what density should the cannonballs be? I wonder if that would effectively build her pain threshold..._


	4. Chapter 4

Here is Chapter 4! It took a while to write this, but I believe I am satisfied with it. I hope you, my readers, are as well!

Quite a bit of info in this author's note; please read it, or you won't understand what's going on.

* * *

From now on, Sonic's Earth will be labeled as 'Searth' in author notes. In the story, it will still be referred to as 'Earth' by its inhabitants.

**Economics of Searth**

Money: 1,000 chips is one bit, 1,000 bits is one orb. Chips and bits are digital only, and used via bit cards. Orbs are actual orbs, made of a cheap, hardy crystal. The value of bits is tied to the value of gold.

For reference, as of this posting (June 22nd) 1 gram of gold is equal to 21 dollars. On Searth, 1 gram of gold 1 bit. (meaning that 1 bit is worth 21 dollars, approximately) That would mean that 1 orb is worth 1,000 grams of gold, and 1 chip is 1/1000 of a gram. 1 kilogram is not a lot of gold in Searth, so its value is fairly standardized regardless of the times. At the moment, prices are inflated because there's a huge world war against Eggman going on, but this isn't reflected in the value of bits-to-gold, only bits-to-merchandise.

Prices vary for a lot of reasons, but mainly because I'm lazy and trying to keep things exactly the same is too difficult. Here's some other reasons: since this is an alternate world, there are different materials at hand and different amounts of said materials. As I said, gold is a little easier to find; everything is that way, therefore materials have different values to the people in this world. The technology level is quite different as well, meaning that everything is easier to get, thus depreciating its value. The only thing that isn't affected directly by dimensional differences is the cost of labor, and that changes depending on the society – which _is_ affected directly. Penguins are going to place a different value on labor than lions or ants or birds.

Here are some example prices. X stands for variable prices

1 scoop of Ice cream: 250 chips ($5).

Car: several hundred bits ($X,000) for a cheap one to a thousand ($10,000) for a really nice one.

Average House: several thousand bits($X0,000) (in Anse; more or less in different areas, of course).

Orbs are used for larger transactions of a more sensitive nature.

Office building: Tens of orbs ($X00,000)

Gram of animatium: 1 orb ($1,000)

The thing to keep in mind about these prices is that:

A) Inflation due to war (Ice cream relatively expensive because labor costs go up. Non war time, might be 100 chips)

B) Technology making things cheaper (When looking at cars, the cheaper ones are about the same price as ours. However, as the quality increases, compared to our cars there is a more gradual increase in price. This is because labor is about the same for all cars, it's the technology that differs. In non war time, halve those prices)

The different currencies are used in different spheres of economies; even though it's equivalent to a number of orbs, you still buy a house with bits. For general rules of use: Chips for everyday transactions, like small stuff in a store or food. Bits for larger purchases, ranging from furniture to houses. Thanks to their digital nature, you use your bit card and the appropriate currency is deducted. Orbs are different: they're used for really expensive transactions, and they're not mixed with bits (or chips). The reason is that they have actual physical shape, and are not digital; they are safer to trade with. It's kind of like trading with suitcases full of gold, except it's still legal tender and not actual merchandise.

* * *

As she stepped onto floor B1, Amy felt her heart sink in her chest. The concrete motif was present here as well, and although the tasteless paintings were thankfully absent, nothing was there to replace them – leaving the corridors depressingly dreary. The carpet on the floor was almost luxurious in its depth, but its coloration left much to be desired; she didn't know if it was deliberate or if Tails was just color blind, but it was almost the color of bile. She felt a strong urge to tiptoe.

As she wandered, it became clear that the living quarters were built much like a college dorm, but made extravagant use of space. The rooms for people to live in, which were built off of a series of long hallways, were huge, and the rest of the floor was the same. There were dozens of small common rooms, which were used as gathering places, dining halls, cleaning closets, and shower rooms, and the three largest rooms contested even the most spacious of Anse's dancing halls in term of size; according to the notices next to the door, they were capable of holding tens of thousands of people at once! And then there was the entertainment center which came in two parts, one for personal use and one that could hold an audience of a thousand.

It was the medical section, though, that took up the most space. Huge storehouses of chemicals and products were so big that they had conveyor belts to take you from one end to the other, and the monstrous supercomputer that held a database of every illness, poison, treatment and cure, as well as a full AI doctor fully capable of doing the job of the real thing, took up almost as much room. The fully automated treatment center was enormous as well, with a host of robot nurses and mobile aid stations. It was kind of intimidating; Tails could, quite literally, treat an army in here and not run into any trouble.

It was all extremely ugly, of course. She hadn't exactly had high hopes when it came to Tails' idea of interior decor, but she hadn't expected the floor that was designed for people to live in to be worse than the labs themselves! She had been trying to hammer some sort of aesthetic sense into him for four years, but...

_I give up! Let him live in this travesty if he wishes!_

-is what she wanted to say, but she would unfortunately have to live here as well. It would be extremely inconvenient if she had to commute to Tails' lab every day, as the distance was long and her training would be intensive in terms of both time and effort. Judging from the equipment he had shown her, Tails was prepared to push her to her limit – and Amy knew that, all issues of how strong, fast, or capable she was aside, her endurance (for everything but running, ironically) was quite high. A commute that was two hours at its shortest and four at its longest would be rough when Tails would want her every waking moment devoted to training.

That meant that, at least until she could run the two hundred miles between the lab and her apartment in a short amount of time without killing herself, she would have to move in. As she looked at the only type of chair that was in the entire place, a welded piece of industrial steel with a minimal amount of padding, she realized she simply could_ not_ sit by and live in such an inhospitable environment. She had a duty to Tails to show him that he didn't have to live such a harsh lifestyle!

Besides, the only other option was trying to find a place near to the lab, and Tails lived in the postindustrial section of town, which also happened to be the ugliest. (Oh, wow! What a _surprise_ that was!) She had spotted several small rotund robots wandering around the area on their short legs, for some purpose or the other, and she caught the attention of one of them now by standing in front of it.

"I need to speak to Tails," she asked. "What's the easiest way for me to do so?"

With a genteel voice more suited to a suave butler, the robot replied, "I can connect a channel to him right now, if you so wish."

_Has to be a robot dedicated to 'guest relations' or something._ "That'd be great, thanks."

There was a beep, a small silence, and then Tails' voice came out of the little robot.

"Amy, how can I help you?"

She took a deep breath. "I have a couple of problems. First, since you'll be wanting me to exercise all day, I should get some new clothes for that purpose. I figured I should ask you about that, since you'll be the one to decide what I'll be going through."

"Actually," Tails responded slowly, "I think I was in the middle of making them myself." There was a pause as he audibly began tapping on something. "Yes, I was; you're welcome to finish the process. Go to floor B4 and knock yourself out with the fabricator – all you'll absolutely need is the design labeled 'Exercise Clothes', but you can make as much as you want. I also have some notes you may want to take a look at; they'll be with the designs. Just remember to use simulations before actually making anything – and don't use the Khame cloth. That stuff is expensive, and I only have a limited supply."

Amy smiled; she hadn't expected that to be so easy. But now came the hard part, and she would have to proceed carefully.

"Tails," she said, "_something _needs to be done with the living quarters here. They're simply not acceptable."

The fox's voice became worried as he immediately misinterpreted. "What, has it been damaged or something? Tell me about in detail, and I'll dispatch some robots to fix it back up."

"No, no, no." Amy sighed. She had half-expected him to misunderstand, but she had been hoping he wouldn't make this difficult. He was used to dealing with government officials, right? She tried to speak in a language he would understand. "I need to requisition funds for the, err, cultural... umm... re-assimilation... of the living quarters on B1."

There was a short pause. "Huh?"

Plan failed. "I need money to make this place look nice!"

Tails' tone changed to one of exasperation. "Amy, I can't just give you government money to pretty things up. I'll have to say no to your request."

"Tails," Amy said firmly, "there is no way in hell I'm staying in this place unless you let me 'pretty it up'. And if I'm not staying here, I'm staying at my home – which, may I remind you, is a two hour drive away in good traffic!"

"A problem easily solved if you take a helicopter."

"Which I won't be doing, especially with that imp around."

"C'mon, Amy," Tails said pleadingly, "don't be a pain. There's no reason you need to waste money on something like this."

"Just because your intelligence is lacking in this particular expertise doesn't make it pointless!"

Tails inhaled sharply, angered and injured by the slight to his intellect. His words became sarcastic and venomous. "That's funny, I thought hedgehogs were fast. Shouldn't you be able to just run here? Oh, I forgot – you're a poor example of a hedgehog. Sorry for holding you up to expectations that you can't reach."

Amy's voice became low and threatening. "I _dare_ you to come up here and say that again!"

There was a pregnant pause, and only the radio prevented the two from coming to blows. It was Tails that spoke first, after deciding where his priorities were.

"Fine. I will give you the funds you require, but they're coming out of your optional medical funds."

Suddenly Tails had the upper hand, and Amy was the one being frightened. "Optional medical funds? What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, nothing _vital_. Just don't expect any unnecessary comforts – like painkillers. I hope you like needles!"

Amy didn't need to see Tails to know he was wearing a vicious smile. She frowned, but she could live with a little pain if it got her a room she could sleep in. Besides, she'd think of some way to get back at Tails for this. "Done! Now, I need a thousand bits transferred to my account."

A strange choking sound came over the radio. "What!? The hell you do!"

"We made an agreement! Now give me my money!"

"Amy, how could you possibly need an orbs worth of bits just to remodel some living quarters!?"

"Things are expensive these days."

"I can supply you with whatever materials you need. Paints, lights, whatever – you think it up, I can make it."

"My biggest worry is furniture, and you can't help me with that – it needs to be made by someone with artistic ability, and while I'm better than you I am by no means a carpenter, so I'll have to buy it. Why did you make this place so big, anyway?"

"There was a time when Elem wanted a place capable of hiding an army within their city. That's no longer the case, but the rooms are fully functional, so I haven't changed them."

"To a soldier, maybe, but not to me! These rooms are way too harsh for me to relax in them, and I'm sure you know the importance of relaxation when I'll be undergoing harsh training every day. Look, I'll try and be as frugal as possible, but good furniture is _really_ expensive these days."

A pensive silence remained as Tails thought about it. After almost a minute, in which Amy found herself wondering if she really _had_ asked for too much, the radio spoke once again. "Fine, I'll see what I can do. I'll rearrange as much as possible, but I'm still going to have to cut into your optional funds. I'll start with the painkillers, as those take up the most money due to your resistance to them, but I'll also have to ask you to make as little use of my money as possible."

Amy smiled. "Thanks, Tails. I appreciate it."

"You're welcome."

And with a beep, the radio was shut off.

Going around the floor once more, Amy tried to think of ways to save money._I can seal off those huge ballrooms, he's never going to get any use out of them. And no matter how many people stay here, Tails only needs one of these hallways, so I can seal off the rest of those. And if I seal off a majority of the smaller rooms, and ignore the medical center and movie room, then that's... fourteen bedrooms – well, suites, really – and three common rooms. I think I can fix up a bedroom with fifty bits, and the common rooms will need three hundred, but that doesn't give me much leeway. I'm going to have to get creative, I think..._

Having come up with nothing conclusive, she entered the elevator once more, headed down to B4. Since she actually had some talent in clothing design, she would take full advantage of Tails' offer. Besides, maybe she would find or think of something that could help with her problems on B1.

As the elevator stopped and the doors opened, what greeted her was an extremely long corridor, with doors sporadically placed along its length and not a single turn or branching passageway. Of course, it was made of concrete, and just as drab as the rest of the entire damn building, but that no longer surprised her.

Walking down the hallway she peeked through the doors, hoping to see something that could point her in the right direction – either some sort of fabric, or a robot who could guide her. Each room had a bunch of machines in it; most memorable was a peculiar sort of angular half-dome with tubes of varying sizes coming in and out of it, and a shuttered opening in its center. It seemed to be a main component, and were in almost all of the rooms she saw. Since there weren't any actual materials that she could see, only finished products littered around, she could only assume that materials were moved into the room when needed; she was guessing that the half-dome had something to do with it, since it was the only thing that looked like it could serve that purpose.

Nothing she saw gave her any ideas with her furniture problems, so when she spotted what could only be clothing she decided to deal with her problems one at a time, and went in to make herself some outfits. It was easy to identify the control center for this particular mess, and she sat down to see what she could do.

The screen lit up as her hand neared it, but the complicated control scheme only confused her. Searching a bit, she found a holo-button marked 'basic mode', and pressed it. Immediately, the maze-like clutter of icons disappeared, with sixteen clear choices popping up in their stead.

_This seems pretty intuitive. I thought it was strange for Tails to include a basic mode, but he __probably starts out here too. Let's see... Tails said he had been designing something earlier, so I'll press 'saved designs'. Here's to hoping it's not _completely_ hideous._

A list of designs appeared. She tried to scroll through them, but each was only marked with a number-letter combination, and the descriptions were only available after she selected a design. She looked for something like a search feature, but found nothing - she ended up pressing 'help'.

"Assistance required?" A robotic voice came out of the machine, and Amy breathed a sigh of relief.

_It's got voice input. This'll make things easier._

"Yes, I need to find a saved design, made for me, Amy. Tails also mentioned that he had some notes written about them, or perhaps about me."

Verify: Search for design using parameter: Amy. Additional query: Search for annotations using same parameter, possibly linked to previous search results. Correct?"

"Yeah, I think that'll do it."

"Searching database... Designs found, linked data found. Three design matches: 125f3A, 125f3B, 125f3C. Additional material found, classification: Annotation, labeled: Super-sentient- Hedgehog- Amy- Clothing. Content: medical data, experiment observation data. Sample: Weight – 85 lbs., Heights – 3' 2", Blood Type – Insufficient data, Bust size -"

"Yeah, I get the picture. Thanks for your help." _Bust size!? How the hell did he find out something like that!? No one knows that info but me and my – oh, I see. I _knew_ that 'full body scan' thing they introduced at my doctor's clinic was fishy! I guess if they have a 3D image of me, such information is necessarily included – but that means the government knows I'm flat-chested! That's not fair! That's not fair at all! Just because some girls are born with better assets than others doesn't mean I'm a lesser citizen! People are going to pay! Starting with Tails!_

Seething at the invasion of her privacy, Amy had a little trouble focusing clothing. After toying around with the interface and creating several designs that involved the body parts of her enemies as integral components, she found she had vented enough to try to make some actual clothing, and took a look at what Tails had made.

The designs, of which there were three, were thankfully only at the planning phase, and hadn't had color or style taken into consideration yet. The material that Tails had been messing around with, Khame cloth, was something Amy had never heard of, but it was obviously high-quality if she believed the data that was on the design. According to the description, it was capable of spreading the force of impact equally across its entire surface, preventing even high-caliber armor-piercing bullets from going through – something she had only heard of in science-fiction! It wasn't like she needed such protection, though, and Tails had specifically told her not to use it, so she erased it from the designs.

Aside from private information that many people would regret ever investigating, the notes also included information about the effects of high speed on clothing, courtesy of Tails' time spent studying Sonic. It also had info on a few other extreme situations, such as how to best make clothing to keep the wearer neither too hot nor too cold, various techniques to strengthen a piece of cloth without increasing its weight by a significant amount, and even how to waterproof any piece of clothing without effecting its appearance, function, or feel. It was rather useful, and Amy tried to memorize as much as she could before moving on.

The three designs were each designed for different occasions. One was for exercise, (a running suit, which Amy decided was perfectly good for her purposes) one for casual wear, (which she immediately discarded and decided to recreate. Tails had simply copied her old clothes, and Amy felt like something new) and, much to her surprise, a stealth suit that would have looked much better on Rouge than it ever would on her.

It actually wasn't the first time he had tried to get her to wear such a thing – the first time he had mentioned it to her, three years ago, he said she would look 'super awesome cool in it, like a real spy!' She had no idea what he had been talking about and had strongly rejected the idea, but apparently he hadn't given up. She wanted to delete the thing, but she _was_ borrowing his machine, and she didn't feel that it would be right. She'd settle for burning it if he ever tried to give it to her.

There were a few things Tails hadn't included in the designs: Shoes and gloves. Well, neither of those things werereally _necessary_, but if she was going to have a new outfit she might as well go all the way! Anyway, since Tails' problem was lack of style, not competence, he had definitely thought some up – they just weren't attached to the designs. She'd look them up later, after she had finished the clothing.

For now, she decided to make three sets of clothing for normal wear and four sets for exercising. For the exercise design she decided to use nom, a strong, elastic substance that was pretty much the mainstay for sports clothing the world over, and chose several different materials for her more normal clothing: Cotton, denim, silk, and liss, a thin material that was like cotton in texture, but had amazing reflective properties.

Starting with the normal clothing, Amy decided to make two shirt-and-pants combinations. She preferred wearing dresses, but if fighting was going to become important to her, like Tails said it would, it would be necessary to wear something that wouldn't restrict her movement. Personal experience told her that dresses didn't exactly fit that mold. She made one set a tight-fitting t-shirt and jeans and another set a white buttoned shirt matched with long black dress pants. The first was for casual occasions, and the second for more formal ones; both made use of the notes Tails had written down about enhancing clothing.

The final piece of clothing was a dark blue silk dress very similar to her current style, but she used liss to embroider several patterns into it. It was a combination that would look good in almost any situation. In bright lighting the liss would be invisible, meaning that her dress, already tasteful, would stand on its own. However, when she got into a situation with less light – such as indoor lighting, or twilight – the liss would start glittering. It was a beautiful sight and, even without the slightly hypnotic suggestion it induced, would draw the eye. She had arranged the liss to both emphasize the sparkle and form random patterns as she moved, and it would attract attention regardless of what she was doing.

However, the slightly hypnotic effect had been classified by Elem as a type of subliminal messaging, which was illegal for civilian use. The only people who were allowed to use it were the military, the wealthy, and Tails. It was becoming more and more apparent that this opportunity to stay in Tails' lab was a once-in-a-lifetime chance, and Amy was becoming highly enamored of the benefits. Perhaps she could keep a permanent residence here, or try and get a job as his secretary or something. Hell, she'd work as his maid if she could use the fabricator whenever she wanted! She was starting to think 'Toy Factory' suited her uses of the place as well!

She set the machine to create the clothing, and quickly tried to design the running suits. At first she was just going to make them with only a few modifications, but changed her mind when she realized the potential of the technology at her disposal. She made full use of the guidelines Tails had set down in his notes, adding generous amount of reinforcement and protection to the nom. Though it was only a millimeter in thickness, the running suit would not only keep her cool and dry no matter how hard she worked, but would provide minor padding against most forms of harm. She considered adding other types of protection to it, such as making it completely nonconductive, but knew that Tails would dislike that – he obviously thought danger was an integral part of her training. As it was, she would only be spared some unnecessary pain, and would still be motivated to avoid harm – if nothing else, it would be nice to have outside of Tails' training.

In any case, she created four running suits, in case any got damaged. Preferring not to stand out when exercising, Amy made two a uniform grey and the other two blue, with a few strips of color to make them easy on the eyes.

After they were added to the queue, she set about looking up the gloves and shoes. It took a bit of searching – they weren't categorized under her name, instead being being associated with hedgehogs in general – but she found quite an assortment: a couple of gloves, two sets of sneakers, and a pair of boots. There was even a headband, although it was a little exotic.

The gloves were varied, from simple ones that were just like the ones she wore now to a pair that shot poisoned needles out of a hidden compartment, or another pair that was kind of like powered armor for her hands. She didn't really need to be able to covertly knock people unconscious, and she was already strong enough, so the more fantastic gear didn't interest her. However, there was a design that did: a pair of gloves that were designed to both be indestructible and have great gripping ability. Their appearance was normal, so they wouldn't look out of place. Unfortunately, because they required Khame cloth, she couldn't just make them; it required Tails approval. After asking the machine for help, it was a simple matter to connect to Tails once more.

"Amy. What do you need now?"

She recoiled at the hostility in Tails' voice. "Hey, don't be nasty! I tried to be as accommodating as possible, so don't hold it against me!"

"I'm not holding it against you, I'm predicting your actions based on it. The only reason you would call me from B4 is because you want to use some Khame cloth, and considering that you deemed it necessary to redecorate an entire floor, you can understand why I'm worried."

"Don't put things out of context."

"Waste is waste, no matter where you are or what you're doing."

"In any case," Amy said, not wanting to get into another fight, "I found your glove designs, and one of them struck me as useful. It's the one labeled as 'Indestructible'; can I make a pair?"

Tails sighed in relief, and his voice brightened considerably. "Oh, those gloves? They use a minimum amount of Khame cloth. I thought you wanted to makes a dress out of it, or something; feel free to make a pair or two. Khame cloth is difficult to make, but as long as you don't over use it, it's fine. I'm pleased you took interest in one of my inventions, though! Have you taken a look at the shoes?"

"No, but I have seen the hair band. I'm surprised; the swirls of red-blue coloring make it really pretty! It's a little over the top, though, isn't it? I understand the usefulness of it being a hidden comm unit, but why would I need a hair band that can jam other communications, or emit an EMP pulse, or power a car for an entire day?"

"Oh c'mon! I can think of dozens of uses for each one of those features! Just make one, I'm sure you'll find a use for it! I can't take credit for the color, by the way; the material I needed to use is naturally that way."

"Don't you think that having to search for ways to make use of the features is the very definition of 'over the top'?"

"Better to have it and have trouble finding a use than finding a use and have trouble not having it! Anyway, while I'm on the line, why don't you take a look at the shoes?"

Amy did so, and found that they were just as exotic as the gloves. "These boots are useless to me; I don't need concealed weaponry in my foot ware, much less a small armory. The first pair of sneakers are a blatant copy of Shadow's shoes, and the last thing I want it to make him think I'm rebounding onto him. However, I do find myself interested in the 'Jump shoes'."

"Really? The ones that have boosters in the soles, and send you flying upward? Why is that?"

Amy put her hand on her chin and thought about it. "I'm not really sure. I think it's partly because it allows me to go fast, but in a different way than Sonic or Shadow. My own unique way of travel; yes, I think that's the allure."

"Huh." Tails seemed both confused and fascinated by her strange desire. "Never thought that those shoes would interest you; I never thought any of it would, to be honest. But this is good! I always thought you were far more similar to Sonic than anyone thought, and I think that's now becoming more clear. It's important that you don't deny anything to yourself – well, I don't mean that. I mean, in the same way that you admitted to me that the jump shoes interested you, admit to yourself when something crazy, wild, and irresponsible appeals to you. Balance is important, but sometimes desires can't be easily evaluated; what may appear as a whim may turn out to be of huge importance."

Amy was surprised at the sudden turn the conversation had taken. "What, so if I feel like jumping of a building, then I should do so?"

"To anyone else I'd say no, but I've seen Sonic run down the sides of buildings before. The one guideline I would follow, if I were you, is this: know where your limits are, but don't be afraid of disobeying them. Considering your unique physique, you'll probably survive no matter what you do."

"I can't tell if you're serious or not. Do you really expect me to be able to do things only Sonic can do?"

"Of course!" The strength of Tails' conviction resonated throughout the comm link. "I fully expect you to be accomplishing feats that will make Sonic jealous! Maybe not now, but in the future I have faith that you will be doing great things!"

"No pressure."

Tails laughed. "Of course not. Just do as your feelings and desires tell you; whatever path you choose, I'll help you walk it. I said it before, and I'll stick by it: I won't judge you no matter what you choose to do."

Amy smiled warmly. "Thanks, Tails. Your faith in me makes me feel a lot better."

"Good. By the way, the next time I need to see you is tomorrow. I've figured out what your initial training is going to be, and we'll need to start early!"

"Wait, so it's different from what you mentioned before?"

"You'll see!"

And with a manic laugh, the communications were cut off.

Hoping that Tails was just trying to freak her out, Amy busied herself with queuing up the gloves, the hair band, and the jump shoes. Since it would take a while for the machine to finish making everything, Amy started randomly browsing the designs Tails had already made. They were uniformly hideous.

After everything had appeared on a rack, prepackaged, she gathered them up and made her way back to the elevator. She put most of the clothes into a dresser, but put on a running suit. She'd have to make her own way back; she didn't feel ready to trust one of Tails' vehicles for a while, and it _was_ a good time to start getting more exercise. After a moment, she decided to wear the jump shoes as well; Tails had told her to indulge in strange desires, and she was feeling very curious about how they worked. According to the description that had been attached to the design, the shoes would only activate when the wearer tried to jump; as long as she didn't do a lot of jumping, they would be fine for everyday use. Making her way onto the first floor and out the side entrance, Amy found that the shoes were a little heavier than normal shoes.

This made little difference to her, though. She was a sprinter, to be sure, with horrible endurance when she ran at full speed, but she was strong, and a little weight wouldn't slow her down in the slightest. Checking her watch, Amy realized that it was ten o'clock She had two hours until her appointment with Rouge at noon; since they were meeting close to her apartment, she'd have to run at max speed for two straight hours in order to make it on time. Unfortunately, that was impossible; she could only sprint for about half an hour before needing a break. She'd also have to hunt down the place where they were meeting, as she'd never been there before, and that would take even more time.

There was one way to get there faster, but Amy wasn't sure if she was willing to risk it. She _had_ wanted to test out the jump shoes, and using them to jump over buildings in her way _would _make the trip considerably shorter, but she would have preferred to do it in a more controlled setting.

However, a part of her was burning to do something different, something dangerous – something she thought Sonic would never do. Her rational side offered up many arguments, such as the sensible 'You're going to die!', but Amy's desire for action was too strong, and she began stretching in preparation.

Trying to figure out the best way to go about testing out the jump shoes, she looked around her surroundings. Right in front of Tails' lab was a pair of abandoned multi-story office buildings, about a hundred feet high, with a one lane street separating them. The one across form had plenty of ledges and windowsills, while the one she was next to was flat as a board. She hadn't paid attention to how high the shoes allowed her to jump, but there were plenty of hand holds on the office building across from her; she'd be able to grab something if she didn't make it all the way up. Besides, she was tough, and knew how to both take a fall and land on her feet; she'd make it somehow. Still next to the other office building, she crouched down, trying to get a feel for the stance required to make the shoes fire off.

She got it spot on. A hissing sound emitting from her foot wear, Amy felt a strange sensation go through her feet as the shoes prepared to boost her upwards.

_Shit! What do I do now!? This wasn't such a good idea!_

She straightened up, hoping the boots wouldn't fire unless she actually jumped. No such luck; soundlessly releasing some form of propulsion, the boots sent her flying twenty feet up.

Amy resisted the urge to scream; although there were no hand holds on this building, if she landed on her feet her legs would absorb the shock. She was strong enough that they wouldn't get terribly injured.

_It's going to hurt like a bitch, though. I don't think I want to do that unless I can help it._

Desperately looking for a different solution, Amy did the first thing she thought of: at the apex of her flight, she planted her feet on the building and pushed off. To her surprise, it worked; the boots sent her rocketing off once again, towards the other building. Thinking fast, she turned herself around in midair and hit the other building feet first. Aiming herself more accurately this time, she jumped once more, and she was sent off in a higher arc back at the first building.

She only had to jump twice more to rise above the top of the buildings, and she skidded to a stop on the building on the left. Holding a hand to her chest and trying to slow her racing heart, she sat down, breathing heavily.

Her rational side was screaming about how she had almost died, that she should get rid of the shoes. Her entire life, the only time Amy hadn't listened to her rational side was when Sonic was involved. Now, though, she was finding a different reason not to listen to it: that had been _fun_. It was hard to accept, but she was starting to think much like Sonic did.

_That was fun! It was dangerous, but what a rush! Is this how Sonic feels? Is this why he's always doing crazy things, so that he can feel this rush? I can understand that; I don't think I've ever felt so alive before!_

After a few minutes, she stopped breathing so hard and her heart rate returned to normal. Checking her watch, Amy realized she'd wasted fifteen minutes already; she'd have to hurry to get to the meeting place on time. Not wanting to waste her current height advantage, she leaped to the next building down the road, and almost missed. Catching herself on the ledge, she pulled herself up and proceeded more carefully to the next one.

After a few minutes, she realized that the height of her jump corresponded with how hard she tried to jump. She wasn't quite sure how the shoes managed to know how high she was trying to jump, but it was really easy to adapt to. She made good time as she leaped from building to building.

She was focusing on heading towards her apartment when she saw her friend Cream sitting in a cafe all by herself. A small, well, cream colored rabbit who was the same age as Tails, Cream lead a much more routine life than the fox, much like Amy did (or had). She was as sweet as they came, and cared deeply for pretty much everyone she met – even Robotnik got some sympathy from her. Although she was an ally to Sonic, she hated fighting and intensely disliked all conflict. Amy cared for the little girl, much like she cared for Tails, and the two had connected by virtue of their mutually mundane lifestyles.

So when Amy saw her half-heartedly spooning an ice-cream Sunday into her mouth, her face a hair's-breadth away from crying, she stopped dead. Cream was _always_ cheerful, even when she was in danger – whatever had happened to her, it must have been terrible!

She had been making good progress, so she had enough time to pay the rabbit a visit. The building she was currently on was only two stories tall; using her hands and feet to keep herself attached, she slid down the side until she reached the road. walking over to the table Cream was sitting at, she pulled out a chair and sat down. The rabbit was so deeply depressed that she didn't even notice Amy's presence.

She decided to get to the center of the matter. "Hey, Cream. What's the matter?"

Cream jumped, squeaking in surprise. When she realized who it was, she put a hand on her chest as she slowed her breathing. "O-oh, it's you Amy. N-nothing is wrong, really. Everything is... fine."

"Yeah, right. Don't put on an act in front of me; I can see right through you. Tell me what's wrong."

Cream looked indecisive, but then sighed. She took a deep breath, and said, "Well, I'm having problems at school."

"School, huh?" Amy realized this could take awhile, and thought of a solution that would please everyone. "How would you like to talk it over somewhere else? I'm meeting someone very soon, and it'd convenient for all of us if we all talked together. What do you say?"

Cream looked nervous. "Who are you meeting with?"

"Rouge. You know, the bat secret agent/thief?"

"You're meeting with _Rouge_!? Amy, she's, she's a _thief_! And a_spy_! She's a _bad person_ – didn't she work with Mr. Robotnik?!"

Amy shook her finger. "Cream, those things may be true, but that doesn't make her a bad person! She just has a different sense of ethics than you or me – that doesn't make it _wrong_. Besides, she's a much _better_ person now." Amy put her hand on Cream's shoulder, trying to reassure her. "C'mon, she's really interesting! You don't have to follow her advice – I wouldn't, actually, as half of what she suggests is a joke – but it'll make you feel much better about your problems to listen to her, I promise."

Cream looked troubled, clearly wrestling between her trust of Amy and the morals she had been raised with, but in the end decided to trust her friend. "Alright, I'll come. How are we going to get there – run?"

"No, not enough time. I'm trying out these new shoes Tails made for me – get on my back!" After swiping her paycard though the reader and paying for Cream's dessert, Amy turned around and kneeled down.

Climbing onto Amy's back, Cream asked, "Are you sure it's safe?"

"Not really, I haven't tried using it while weighted down. Hold on tight!"

Amy jumped, and to her relief went where she wanted to go. The shoes seemed to adjust to the weight placed on them and sent her flying to the top of the cafe.

Cream screamed, to her credit only briefly, and clung tightly to Amy's back. This made it easy for Amy to leap again, and she went to the top of a higher building close by. From there, she proceeded on her way back to her apartment, with Cream's hands clasped around her body.

"Amy," Cream finally said after a full fifteen minutes of quivering silence, "why didn't you tell me you would be flying into the air like that! I thought I was going to die!"

Amy laughed a little, not expecting to get such a harsh reprimand from Cream of all people. "Sorry, I just wanted to surprise you. I didn't really think it out."

"Well, don't surprise me like that again! That really scared me!"

"All right, I won't. I promise."

"Good." Trusting Amy's word, Cream left it at that.

Rouge had requested to meet at some place called 'Heaven's End', and although Amy knew the address, she wasn't familiar with the street it was located on. She was forced to stop and check street signs, and even ask for directions once. Finally, Amy found the place, which turned out to be a bar. Doing a reverse version of the first feat she had accomplished with the jump shoes, Amy bounced her way close to the street level and slid down the rest of the way. As soon as Amy landed Cream climbed down and, legs still shaking slightly from Amy's new mode of transport, looked at the door in fear.

"I've never been in a bar before. My mother had told me about them, and I don't think I should go in there. You know what, I think I'm fine. Actually, I have homework to do. Please?" Cream was practically begging.

"Bars aren't such bad places; your mother worries too much. Don't worry about it – I'll be there, and I'll make sure no one hurts you. Rouge won't let that happen either, and she could turn this place into rubble if she wanted to."

Cream once again seemed torn between her friend and her upbringing, and once again decided to believe in her friendship. She let Amy guide through the doorway, although she still cringed a little when the door swung shut behind them with a grating creak.

As soon as Amy's eyes adjusted to the lack of light, she checked her watch once again. She was right on time, and scanned the bar for Rouge. It wasn't hard to find her; the bat was sitting at a table by herself, and looked so energetic and gleeful that she practically brightened the room all on her own.

Rouge waved at them, and Amy walked over and sat down. Smiling an obscenely brilliant smile, Rouge was obviously very happy about something. "Amy, good to see you! How's your love life with Sonic? And is that Cream? What a surprise, good to see you too!"

Rouge slid a beer Amy's way, and Amy stared at the mug before turning back to the bat. "Well, you're in a good mood. Are you buying this for me?"

"Yes, I happened to have a good turn of luck lately, a _really_ good turn of luck, so I'm willing to pay for today!"

Amy raised her eyebrow; paying for things when she didn't have to went against Rouge's belief system. "Are you really the Rouge I know? What happened to make you this generous?"

Rouge leaned forward, conspiratorially, before speaking. "Well, I learned about a certain... loophole I could take advantage of. You remember those jewels I talked about last time, the Summer Hour collection? Well, turns out there was a survivor of the royal family that originally owned them, and get this – he claims the kingdom of Yarrow was responsible for the annihilation of his people! People have been questioning if they did it for a while, but it was such a horrendous idea that no one dared to actually come out into the open and say it. I mean, destroy a people just for some jewels? That's monstrous!"

Cream, who had sat down nervously, was shocked by this revelation. "But, isn't Yarrow part of the alliance against Eggman? Aren't they one of the good guys?"

Rouge waved her hand. "The government itself is fairly just, but the thing about their military is that you have to be part of a noble family to be an officer. So, of course, you get a lot of people unsuited for the job making the big decisions, and one of the biggest jerks, who happens to be a huge jewel collector, was the one in charge of establishing trade with the island. As hard as it is to believe, he probably ordered his soldiers to kill the people and cremate them, or something, just to get his hands on the jewels."

Cream was wide-eyed in shock. "That's so terrible! What happened to that officer? Did he get fired?"

"Nope. Still has his job – he's in line for the throne, so they can't really do much to him unless he injures another member of the royal family. Anyway, that surviver blames the entire alliance for that one officer's actions, and has sided with Eggman – says he'd rather have one competent tyrant than a bunch of incompetent ones. Understandably, he does not like the idea of his family jewels being displayed in some museum, and issued a 'royal proclamation' about it – guy's obviously getting some serious ego-stroking from Eggman's side. Anyway, he declares that if the royal family can't have it, then he wants no one to have it."

"And this is where you come in," Amy said.

"Right! Since the original owners are asking for someone to liberate them, it was my job – no, my _duty_ – to relieve the museum of the jewels. So I did so last night! Security was terrible by the way, you might want to mention that to someone. If there were people less scrupulous than me, the whole place would get looted. In fact, I'd say it'll get looted in a week unless they upgrade security – after all, if they can't protect the art, then someone will have to protect it in their stead. Well, most of them. Some of them are fakes, so I'd just sell those to some idiot."

"Wait," Cream said, "Are you referring to the theft I heard about this morning? Where someone stole a fake version of some art object?"

"Yes, that's what I was – what? WHAT!? FAKE!? Those _bastards_, how dare they pretend they still have them when I stole them! Those were_real_, no doubt about it!" Rouge slammed her fist on the table, alarming several of the patrons and spilling some of Amy's beer, which she hadn't touched yet.

After a few more swear words, Rouge sank into a brooding silence. Cream hesitantly spoke up. "Why are you so angry? I mean, if they pretend the jewels were fake, then don't you both get the jewels?"

"I didn't steal these because I wanted them – well, I did, but I'd never steal something for just that reason. Not nowadays. No, I left a rather verbose notice in the jewels stead – a proclamation of my own, so to speak. I told them that they had now gone into the protection of the The Group." At Cream's clueless look, she elaborated. "It's a name that thieves use when they steal something not for profit, but for the sake of keeping the art safe. Don't tell this to anyone, but it doesn't refer to some sort of collection of the best thieves in the world, like the name suggests. It's pretty much just a single family of people, who have these really impressive vaults. When a thief donates a piece to The Group, they give it to the family, who keep it safe across generations. They've got these really strict codes of honor, and although the governments of the world have an idea which family it is, they can't do anything because no one knows where the vaults are except the family patriarch and matriarch. Anyway, the family gives thieves who donate a generous sum, and I've donated quite a few pieces myself, including the Summer Hour jewels. That survivor was probably getting Eggman's support because he promised to give those jewels over, and Eggman would have just locked them up in his private vault, and the world would never see them again."

Cream tilted her head. "How is that different from what The Group does?"

"The Group releases artwork when it's safe. I remember my mentor telling me about the last international art show – you probably haven't heard of them, as they stopped way before Eggman even appeared. Deciding that it was safe enough to show the pieces, but not safe enough to sell them back into the mainstream, The Group snuck the confiscated pieces into the art show for a single day. When Eggman finally disappears, I'm sure a similar act will happen – and if the world manages to get it's act together and form an alliance that isn't bound together by a mutual threat, then maybe the artwork will finally be sold back into the public."

Cream nodded, seeming to approve, but still looked confused. "I don't get why you're angry, though. The jewels are in The Groups' protection, right? So they're safe. Why does it matter if Elem pretends they still have them?"

"Because it's just a political move! I'll bet my entire personal collection that those bastards had some kind of deal in the works – having a genocide survivor condemn you is _really_ bad for PR, so they were going to give him the gems. Now they'll have Tails make up some cheap copy, and it'll screw up their worth for all eternity because there will be no way to tell the real ones from the fakes! Nothing against Tails, Amy, he's just a tool for those dogs. Besides, I'm the one getting labeled with the fakes; The Group might reject the jewels now!"

Amy thought of something. "Wait, if Tails could make an identical copy, then how do you know you didn't really steal a fake?"

"Thanks to the position I hold, I have contacts who would tell me if something like that was going to happen, and they didn't. In fact, one of those contacts just told me this morning that they have something to talk to me about; it has to be that Tails is going to make a copy!"

Cream was looking disturbed. "I was taught in class that Eggman is the enemy, and that those who side with him are wrong and become the enemy as well. Why would the government make a deal with the enemy?"

"That's simple. Why make them your enemy when they could be a friend? It would be much easier for the government if that survivor started ranting at just Yarrow, or better yet, at the officer who did the act. Elem has been putting pressure on Yarrow to change the way their military works for a long time; having that survivor decry the Yarrow military would really help with that goal."

"But that doesn't seem right. If he joined with Eggman in the first place, than is he really trustworthy? And I'm sure the government knows that Eggman wanted the jewels and what he would do with them; why would they let Eggman get his hands on them if he was just going to lock them up?"

Rouge smirked. "This might surprise you, but the government is sorta planning that they'll win the war, and if they do, they can retrieve all of that art. But you're absolutely correct, it isn't right. You shouldn't believe propaganda so easily, Cream. There are good and bad people on both sides of any war, and that includes this one. Even if he's willingly being a tool for Eggman, that survivor is probably a good guy at heart. Give him some credit; his entire kingdom was wiped out so that some psycho could have his family's jewels. If that happened to me, I'd be bitter about it as well."

"Well," Amy said, "I'm actually living with Tails right now. Maybe I could convince him to put in some tiny flaw that would be recognizable if you knew about it?"

Her words made Rouge brighten up instantly. "Would you? That would be great! Tell him to put in a time delayed flaw; Eggman will catch anything else."

"I'm sure Tails can figure it out."

"Right," Rouge said, regaining some of the bright smile she had started out with, "my problems seem to be solved. Let's move onto yours, Amy. Why are you looking so stressed?"

Amy straightened. _I look stressed? I don't _feel_ stressed._ "Well, I have some problems, but I'm handling them fine by myself. Nothing to worry you about."

Rouge snorted. "Like hell you are. Most people might not notice it, but I can tell when you're bothered by something. Besides, no problem is too small for me to solve! Cream, you can see it too, right?"

Cream nodded. "Yes. I thought it might be because she was offended that you put the beer in front of her, though."

Rouge blinked at the little rabbit, then laughed. "Really? Amy, do you dislike alcohol that much?"

Amy shook her head. "Oh no, not at all. I was just too busy listening." She took a large slug of the beverage in front of her, wiping the foam off of her lips and grimacing in distaste. "This stuff is pretty bad. This can't be the best this place has to offer."

Rouge and Cream were staring at her, so Amy stared back. "What? What I'd do?"

Rouge recovered first. "Well. I never expected you to actually drink it. You've been getting naughty lately, Amy!"

Cream broke out of her trance at the word 'naughty'. "Amy, how could you drink that!?"

Amy frowned. "What's wrong with drinking?"

"Well," Rouge said with a slight smile, "for one, it's illegal if you're under eighteen."

"Really!? I had no idea! Knuckles never mentioned that before!"

Rouge raised her eyebrows. "Knuckles? Have you been drinking with him or something?"

Amy flinched, realizing she had let the secret go twice – in one day, even! "Uh, no?"

Rouge just smiled devilishly. "Don't worry about it, dear. If you're drinking with him on Angel Island, then it isn't illegal. It's Knuckles territory, so he is the judge, jury, and executioner. But that's interesting, Knuckles drinking! Do you do it often? Why does he drink?"

"Um, I don't know?"

"What, you don't know how often you drink?"

"I, uh, forgot. Forgot everything. Can't remember a single thing."

Rouge pouted. "Fine, be that way. I'll ask him directly. Anyway, you still haven't told us what's stressing you out. Actually, why are you living with Tails in the first place?"

So Amy told them about what had happened the night before. She told them about entering Sonic's home, about her confrontation with him, and about the words they had exchanged. How she almost got into serious trouble in the slums, and how Tails was going to help her decide what to do with her life now. And halfway through, she found herself crying at how much it still hurt inside. She didn't wail, or get angry; she just cried quietly, her voice faltering over her words. Both of the girls walked over and hugged her tightly, Rouge around her shoulders and Cream around her waist. Amy found herself desperately clinging to them as she spoke, tears rolling down her face.

Finishing her story left a sort of hollow feeling in the pit of her stomach, but it was a good emptiness – it was like the brooding tension and buried pain she hadn't even noticed had drained away, and the rest of body simply hadn't filled that absence yet. She disentangled herself from the other two and sat back in her chair, wiping her eyes. She dipped a napkin in her drink so that she could work out the tear-stains that were left in her fur and on her face.

Rouge was burning with fury. "That bastard doesn't deserve you, Amy! You should do like Tails said and find a different meaning in life! Screw that guy – 'Hero' indeed!"

Surprisingly, Cream nodded along, even though Rouge was using words she usually abstained from. "Sonic did a bad thing. Just because he's a good person most of the time doesn't mean he can say something like that. You shouldn't listen to him, Amy – he's not right."

"No, he was partially right. I should be-"

"No, he was not!" Rouge took her own beer, which had appeared on the table at some point Amy had missed, and slammed it down. "People who are strong are not _required_ to do anything! You're free to do what you want – you don't owe anything to the world! He can save the world all he wants – it doesn't mean he can hold you to the same expectations! It's your choice to do what you wish with your life! Besides, I bet you my entire collection that if he hadn't gotten personally involved with Eggman, he would have stopped risking his life a long time ago!"

Amy rested her head on her hand, looking pensive. "So you're saying I should choose a different path in life? But there's nothing I'm good at – I don't have any good skills."

"What, you think fighting Eggman for four years means nothing? You should become a mercenary!" Rouge said enthusiastically.

Cream gave the bat a quick look. "Or a heroine! Then you can prove Sonic was wrong about you!"

"No way! If she starts doing things for free, that'll be like admitting Sonic was right and that she should have been a heroine all along! She should become a mercenary – although she should never take jobs from jerks like Eggman. Unless they pay really well."

"But Sonic's not a bad person, usually! If she becomes a heroine, then they can get together and live happily ever after!"

"Who would want to be with that jerk!? Did you even hear what he said?"

"Just because he said one bad thing doesn't make him a bad person!"

"Sure it does! He's an arrogant asshole who deserves to be lonely his entire life!"

"Stop using bad words!"

"Stop being so naive!"

"Meanie!"

"Brat!"

When the two started growling at each other (a sound she was amazed to hear coming out of Cream) Amy had to step in and separate the two.

"Look," she said, "I understand what both of you are saying. I'm not quite sure what I should be doing after my training with Tails is complete, but I take it both of you think I should take advantage of his offer?"

They nodded in unison.

Amy perked up a bit. "Well, that makes me feel better. At least I know what I should do for now. Now, since you two have made me feel so much better, it's my duty to help you. The only one of us who hasn't told us her problems is you, Cream." She turned to the rabbit in question. "When I saw you earlier, you were looking really down, and mentioned something about school. Why don't you tell us what's wrong?"

Cream shifted a bit in her seat, looking uncomfortable. "It's nothing big, really. Not compared to either of your problems."

"Come, dear, every problem needs a solution, no matter how small." Rouge patted the girl on the back, having forgotten her previous quarrel.

"Well," Cream said hesitantly, "I found a sport I really like at my school, but it's a boys-only sport. I don't really care about being on a team, but the boys won't even let me practice with them, and they've been saying bad things about me when I try. When I told the teachers, they just said the boys were right, and that I shouldn't be playing that sport."

Rouge frowned, obviously displeased by the chauvinistic point of view. "What's the sport, or the school for that matter?"

"The sport is wave riding, and the school is Johnson's School for the Gifted and Worthy."

Rouge shook her fist. "I know that school! They're so arrogant that they have valuable art displayed inside their class rooms! No wonder you're having trouble; that school is famous for trying to teach boys to be 'gentlemen' and girls to be 'ladies'. They're also known for having a rather stilted view of what ladies should do."

Amy frowned. "That's strange, though. I've visited that school before, and the boys really are gentlemen. It's funny that they'd get away with insults. If I remember correctly, honor is a major component of their teachings – if a girl reported guys being rude, that'd be enough to get them in trouble."

Cream sniffed. "They said it was because they were in the heat of competition, and that it was excusable because boys can be rowdy and rude when excited."

Rouge seemed incensed by this. "Isn't that exactly why they're being trained as gentlemen, so that they _don't_ act like that? That school is past its day. Why are you in such an old-fashioned school, anyway?"

"Well, I got offered complete scholarships to the best schools in Elem, and being in a school where there were gentlemen and ladies seemed interesting. It was a really nice school until about a year ago, when the new principle came. That was when boys started being allowed to be rude. It's still not that bad, as most of the boys still remember the lessons taught to them, but the newer ones aren't nice at all."

Rouge looked at Amy. "You're homeschooling, right? Why can't Cream here do the same?"

"She's only twelve years old. Going to school and meeting other kids is important – at least, that's what Cream's mother thinks. I only started learning via terminal because I don't have any family, and have to have a job to survive."

Rouge crossed her arms. "Well, school may be important, but it looks like Johnson's has become less than the best. It might be a good idea to get Cream here transferred at the very least."

"I'll ask Cream's mother about it. I'm sure that if she knows about it, she'll want Cream to change schools as well."

"How do you know Cream hasn't spoken about this to her mother already?"

"Cream's mother is intelligent, and wouldn't have let something like this pass. Besides; have you talked to your mother about it yet, Cream?"

"It's, it's not that big of a problem. I don't want to make a fuss over nothing."

Amy shrugged her shoulders, giving Rouge a 'told you so' look.

"What about wave boarding," Cream continued, "Is it not okay for me to play it?"

"Of course it's okay for you to play it!" Rouge said defiantly. "Amy and I play it ourselves – don't we, Amy?"

Amy held up her hands. "That was a few years ago. I haven't touched a board for a long time."

"Great time to get started again, then! How about we form a girls team and challenge those boys to a match? With me and Amy on your team, Cream, there's no way we could lose! I bet we could get Tails to make us some sweet boards, too!"

Cream seemed thoughtful. "My two friends are interested in it too. You only need five members for a team, so that should work."

"Alright!" Rouge pumped her fist in the air. "Then our mission is clear! Make a wave boarding team, and defeat the nasty boys! And until the match, play pranks on them until they're so afraid of the dark they'll need night lights for the rest of their lives!"

After Rouge reluctantly paid for the drinks, (her charity having evaporated with what had happened regarding her theft) the three got up and headed out the door, talking about wave boarding and arguing over what counted as acceptable pranks. Rouge's excitement over the possibilities was infectious, and soon even Cream was coming up with suggestions. Amy smiled; for better of for worse, her life would be exciting, and she was starting to come to the conclusion that exciting was much, much better than stability.


	5. Chapter 5

Here's Chapter 5. I hope you enjoy it.

* * *

The gate that led to Johnson's School for the Gifted and Worthy was old, made of blackened iron and attached to the brick posts that held it up via solid metal hinges. It was brash, arrogant, and pretentious, mirrored after gates built hundreds of years ago but constructed relatively recently. The care it was given was obvious; a fresh coating of oil had been applied recently, perhaps even that morning, and not a speck of rust marred its surface.

Fitting for Johnson's? Absolutely. _Especially_ the horrible stink the oil exuded. Without even stepping inside, Amy found she disliked the place.

When the three girls had arrived at the school, they learned that Cream had, apparently, been skipping class. Cream fervently denied this, shock and confusion nearly bringing tears to her eyes; she said that the sports coach, a hulking brute of a bear, had given her the day off after the wave boarding team had rejected her once again, but the coach denied this right to their faces. He said so hesitantly, choosing ambiguous words that hardly got his message across – 'Why would I have done something like that? I'd have to be an idiot!'

Amy rolled her eyes at that one. _That explains everything._

The punishment for skipping was manifold, but it started with suspension for a week. Rouge and Amy, who were technically Cream's guests, were included in this; according to the strict matron-like frog that had acted as judge and jury on Cream's punishment, they had 'undoubtedly inspired the unladylike behavior that is causing Cream so much trouble.'

Rouge turned to Amy, a vein in her forehead twitching in annoyance. "Tell me, Amy. What would the best course of action here be? Advise me; I don't think I'm in the right frame of mind to be making decisions like that."

Amy was hardly sympathetic. "I think destroying that gate could be considered out civic duty; it offends my nose and my eyes, and is disgustingly retro! Plus, I don't want to just go over the walls; that's too sneaky."

Rouge cradled her forehead in her hand. "Amy, you're_ supposed_ to be the voice of reason here! Cream – can't _you_ think of the most peaceful way out of this?"

"Actually, there's some sort of deterrent on the wall that will shock you if you go over it. If you need to bust in, you'll need to go through the front gate."

Amy looked at Cream in concern. "I never thought to hear _you_, of all people, promoting the use of violence. What's wrong?"

Cream looked away. "I didn't say you _should_ destroy the gate, just that, if you want to get in illegally, that's the only way."

"That's hardly an improvement. Now you're promoting criminal activity. Maybe hanging out with Rouge was a bad idea."

Cream was almost squirming now. "But, but, that teacher _lied!_ That's so wrong! I'm in trouble for something I didn't do, and it's because someone deliberately framed me! That's not right at all! I know it's wrong to destroy things, but it's just so unfair that I'll have to do all those nasty chores because of someone else!"

Rouge stared, amazed. "Unfair? That's life! It can't be possible for you to have been that sheltered. I mean, you've fought against Eggman; how can you be surprised by people acing selfishly?"

"That's different. Eggman is a bad person, and most people aren't like him."

Rouge's face became a mixture of irritation and superiority, and she started speaking like she was reciting from a script that she had read many, many times. "That just proves how much more you need to mature before being ready for the real world. The truth is, most people prefer to act selfishly; the only reason they don't is because they're afraid of the response from the people they hurt. That's why society exists – to keep our baser natures in check. The predators can't hunt the prey because the prey exist in number, and the prey can't overwhelm the predators because they exist in number as well. It's a flawed system for flawed people, therefore perfect in execution."

Cream turned to Rouge angrily, forgetting the moral dilemma that had spawned the argument in the first place. "I refuse to believe that people are inherently evil! If that was true, then wouldn't the governments of the world simply give in to Eggman? It's not like he wants to destroy the world – if the politicians gave in to his demands, they would probably keep their jobs as the rest of their people were enslaved. The one obstacle that prevents democratic leaders from controlling everything is the people themselves, and if Eggman were in control that obstacle would be gone – but they still work hard for the people's sake! If that's not an example of inherent good nature, I don't know what is!"

Rouge shook her head. "Silly little girl, most leaders have no desire to become Eggman's puppets. I admit our leaders right now tend to act like you do, but they are simply a minority, the same minority you're from. The moralities of the people in general have nothing to do with it."

Cream raised a finger. "But almost everyone is voted into place nowadays. Doesn't that mean that the people want leaders with those qualities, because they respect them?"

Rouge raised an eyebrow, intrigued with her opposition despite herself. "Perhaps so, but why do they respect them? First of all, wouldn't the fact that they respect people with those qualities be a direct admittance to the difficulty in obtaining those qualities?"

"Not at all! People admire leaders who can maintain those qualities despite being in power! It is not their good nature they admire, but their ability to resist the corruption that power brings!"

Rouge didn't give a step. "Second of all, you must admit that nowadays a huge portion of a voting campaign involves candidates building their images in the eyes of the people. And aren't there many qualities that attract people, such as fame, fortune, beauty, charm, or a short term stance on popular issues, that have nothing to do with good nature or resistance to corruption?"

"Sure, a lot of people vote based on those things, but thanks to the society that you so casually declared a flawed system, they gather in numbers and discuss things before hand. Thus, they are able to convince the ones that think like that and vote intelligently."

"Unfortunately," Rouge said with a sigh, "a lot of people are stupid. And the problem with discussing in groups is that it's not a matter of addition – it's a matter of multiplication. Let's say 'one' is a person of average intelligence, a number above 'one' is a person of higher intelligence, and a number a fraction of 'one' a person of lower intelligence. When people gather there is a certain trend – smarter people gather with smarter people, because they are intelligent enough to realize who is smart. However, average people don't always realize which people are dumb, and thus the two gather together. There are far more average people than there are smart people; and since they're often convinced by the dumb people, their decisions are negatively affected. Therefore, the 'people' lean more towards the opinion of the unintelligent than the intelligent."

"I disagree. I think that-"

"All right, all right," Amy said, stepping in between the two, "that's enough philosophy. Have you forgotten what we came here for?"

Rouge chuckled. "Almost, yeah. Cream here is so good at arguing, and I haven't had a chance to talk like this in a while."

Cream narrowed her eyes. "I don't _argue_. I _discuss_. And I'm good at it because Tails is always rebuffing my arguments. I have to think really hard before hand in order to make him treat me seriously."

"You too?" Rouge smiled broadly. "I don't see him much, but when I do, he always acts high and mighty and points out how wrong I am in at least three different ways. It's not fair, is it?"

"Fairness aside," Cream said, "it's highly annoying how he plays devil's advocate all the time! You never get to find out how he really feels about things."

"Yes, yes, geniuses can be annoying, I agree. Now that we all hate someone in common," Amy said wryly, "Why don't we decide to do something about our mutual problem – how we can't get inside."

"Right," Rouge said, "I'm voting for destruction, but that would probably be bad for Cream." She turned back to the gate. "Hey, miss frog, can you give us a good reason not to break this thing down?"

The frog, who was the grounds keeper according to the large purple badge attached to her dirty yellow overalls, was an older woman who's creased, pointed face only enhanced the aura of displeasure that she emitted. She was shocked by Rouge's almost casual question, and stepped backwards. "Wha, what!? I'll call the police if you try anything funny!"

"The police? Why would you do that?" Rouge seemed torn between laughing and getting angry. "You do know who we are, right? That's why you called us bad influences, right?"

"I am familiar with Cream because she is a student here, but why would you expect me to be familiar with you?" The frog suddenly gasped. "I see now! You must be infamous criminals! Get out of here now, or I really will call the police!"

Amy stepped forward and shook her fist, fuming. "We are nothing of the sort!"

"Well," Rouge whispered to Cream, "it's _partially_ true. 'Rouge the Bat' may not be infamous, but 'Ruby the Thief' is!"

Cream sighed, look depressed again. "Please don't remind me. I'm already in enough trouble with my school; I don't need my mother finding out who I'm spending time with."

"I," Amy said imperiously, ignoring the mutterings of her companions, "am a close friend of Sonic the Hedgehog, and surrogate older brother to Tails the Inventor. Rouge here is a highly ranked government employee - but I guess it's kind of natural that you don't know about that. Anyway, we're not people you should be locking out of your gates! You should be welcoming us with open arms!"

The frog snorted through her large nostrils. "Lies if I ever heard them! Anyone can say they work for the government, and I've never heard of this 'Amy' you speak of. If you're so famous, why is that so? Tell me that!"

Amy gave her a puzzled look. "What, you haven't heard me? I'm one of the three hedgehogs!"

"Three? I've only heard of two! Oh, wait – are you referring to that _other_hedgehog? The one that's only an honorary member of Sonic's group, and takes advantage of all the benefits without having earned them?"

Amy took a step back, inhaling shakily. "Is, is that what people think of me? Is that what they say when I'm not around? That I'm useless?"

Cream shook her head vehemently as she rushed over to Amy's side. "No, not at all! There are very few people who say stuff like that!"

"Then, what _do_they say about me?"

"Well, they don't really say anything at all. But I think that's much better than saying nasty things!"

"True." Rouge stepped in as well. "Take it from me – it's much better to have nobody know who you are than for them to say the truth."

"If you really are that Amy," the frog said, interrupting the trio with her loud voice and cold stare, "then there is no way I'm letting you into the school grounds. A useless waste of space such as yourself would be a bad influence to the students, and while there is a certain merit to being shown what you should not become, the students are not wise enough to properly interpret your lack of motivation for what it is. When they see you trying to stand proudly on laurels not of your own making, they will mistakenly believe that it is all right to let the achievements of others bear you forward through life while never doing anything yourself. Many of the students here are rich inheritors; such a path through life is highly tempting to them."

She then turned her attention to Cream. "If the school hears of you spending time around such a person, then I cannot say what your future here will be like. You should distance yourself from these people immediately! Although a good portion of your qualifications for attending this school doubtlessly come from that same affiliation to Sonic, you will never be able to escape that and become a true lady if you embrace your own failure like this woman does!"

Cream frowned and opened her mouth, but Rouge had already stepped forward. The harsh stare she gave the grounds keeper was fierce enough to make the woman step back, even with the solid iron gate standing between them.

"I can forgive you for not recognizing us," Rouge said as she walked forward, her every step mirrored by the frog in reverse, "as it's not like we're_that _famous. I can forgive you for being a bitch, as you were probably hired for just those qualities. I can even forgive you for believing a stupid rumor about Amy, as idiocy isn't exactly a sin.

"However," Rouge said, her tone becoming harsh as she came to a stop a few feet away from the gate, "I _cannot _forgive you for trying to act superior to us! The hurt you caused cannot be passed off as due to carelessness; you maliciously went out of your way to use the weakness that Amy displayed to further hurt her, just so that you could feel better than us!"

Amy stepped forward as well. Ignoring her own pain and using Rouge's fury to fuel her own, she spoke fast and unthinkingly. "You're one to speak of using the achievements of others! Look at you – you get hired as a gardener at a fancy school, and suddenly you think you're good enough to judge us! I've spent the last four years chasing after someone I loved and admired, and all I've gotten is an angry denial and a lot of wasted time. I don't need some upstart gardener telling me that I'm a useless person because I associate with heroes, of all things!"

The frog, now starting to look nervous, tried to fend them off. "It shows what kind of person you are that you spend four years trying to seduce one guy and never succeed, doesn't it? I don't need a failure insulting my profession! And I'm a grounds keeper, not a gardener; I'm in_charge_ of the gardeners!"

Rouge's face, previously holding an icy calm, suddenly turned red with explosive anger. "Do you know the slightest thing about Sonic, you idiot woman!? He's a sixteen year old with literally half the world's woman swooning over him, and he's still a virgin! Don't you think it means something that Amy here is the only person in the world to have even gotten a date with him!?"

Ironically, the frog's desperate words calmed Amy. She took a deep breath and, mixing the hurt into it, let it out again. Then she turned to Rouge, feeling much lighter. "Leave it alone, Rouge. If she's fallen back on petty insults like that, then her opinions no longer matter to me. I've had thousands of people say the same thing, and I've learned not to care. We just need to get inside; if that happens, then we can just drop the subject and move on, right?"

Rouge paused for a second, weighing her anger against her reason before throwing her hands in the air. "Fine! You're the one she insulted, not me. If you want to let it go, it's up to you." She turned to the old grounds keeper. "You heard her. Let us in, and we'll forgive you. Open the gate."

The frog looked immensely relieved that the two women in front of her no longer looked like they wanted to kill her, but she refused to budge. "You must be joking! No matter what kind of people you are, Cream has been suspended and has no right to let visitors in. I couldn't let you in even if you were saints!"

"I see," Rouge said. "So, there's no legal way to get inside, right?"

"Right. You can't get in." The frog closed her eyes and nodded in approval, glad they had finally agreed on something.

She stopped nodding when the two headed towards opposite sides of the gate. Rouge looked at the gate, analyzing it, while Amy placed her hands on the gate and spread her legs, bracing herself.

The frog started flailing in panic. "Thieves! Criminals! Vandals! What are you doing! I'll call the police, and you'll be arrested! We have cameras here, and your faces have already been recorded! Get out of here this instant!"

Rouge pulled a hand held radio out from somewhere in her tight clothing, and pressed a button before speaking into it. "Agent Onyx, confirmation code four, hare, seven, dynamo, eleven, alpha. I will be causing a necessary disturbance at Johnson's School for the, uh, supposedly gifted and talented. Please inform the police."

"Understood, Agent Onyx. Police will be informed and arrangements will be made. Please remember to submit a report this time."

"Yeah, yeah." Putting the transceiver back where it had come from, Rouge turned back to the frog. "As you can see, the police won't be an issue."

She didn't seem to be listening. "Vandals! Terrorists! Spawn of Satan! I'll call the police, and you'll be locked up!"

Rouge held back a laugh. "'Spawn of Satan.' That's rich." Then she looked at Amy and, as one, they acted.

Rouge jumped high into the air, flipping gracefully before slamming her foot against the topmost hinge, shattering it. She continued to spin, and her other foot came down, going right through the middle hinge. Finally, she landed on her feet and, reversing her momentum, broke the final hinge with a fierce axe kick upwards. Considering each hinge probably weighed about a pound on its own, this was no easy feat.

Amy used none of these acrobatics. She simply exhaled and, with a surge of strength, ripped the gate off of its hangings with the squeal of metal dragging on concrete. Two of the hinges were ripped in half, and one came out of the brick post in an explosive puff, leaving a hole she could fit her whole hand in.

Rouge turned to the grounds keeper. "I think you should move, froggy."

The frog, who had been paralyzed by the demolition being performed in front of her, suddenly croaked in fear and hopped backwards as the gate came crashing down on the inside of the school yard. Several students who had been passing by cried out at the huge sound it made as it hit the ground, and stared at Amy and Rouge as they walked inside.

Rouge looked pleased with herself. "That was surprisingly refreshing."

"Yes," Amy agreed, "but how are you going to explain it to your superiors?"

"Hah! I do stuff like this all the time, and for worse reasons! Not only am I here 'investigating reports of student mistreatment' and a 'decline in quality in a government-funded facility', but I'm supporting you, whom Tails has gotten the government so tightly wound up about that they'll forgive you almost anything! I'll hardly get in trouble at all!"

Cream caught up to them, stepping carefully between the bars of the gate. "Augh! I knew I should never have encouraged you! The grounds keeper is running to the principal as we speak, and I'm sure to get expelled now!"

Rouge grinned viciously. "Not before I shut this place down, you're not!"

Amy gave her partner in crime a questioning look. "Isn't that a little excessive?"

"Not at all. This school is given a lot of money because it is a school of exceeding quality, not only of students but of staff and facilities. And from what I've heard from you, Cream, and from what I've seen and heard just now, they're skimping on all three of those qualities."

Rouge suddenly looked serious, and seemed to be trying to decide something. After a few moments, she turned to her two companions. "I have to admit something: Investigating this school is already one of the things my department has scheduled to do. It's nowhere near the level of thing I'm usually sent out for, but when I heard you were having problems here, I decided to do it anyway. As I said, they get a lot of funding from the government right now, but what I haven't said, and this is classified information so you'll have to keep it secret, is that they're also in a lot of debt from all the money they borrowed to get the school on its feet thirty years ago. If what I report gets the school's funding cut, then they'll definitely shut down."

"But that's not good," Cream said, concerned. "I have friends who tried really hard to get into here. If you shut this place down, then they'll have wasted all that effort!"

"If it's become such a bad place," Rouge said, "then their effort is going to be wasted anyway. Better that they get their money back, attend a different school, and actually get a good education. In any case, I'll conduct my investigation later. For now, let's go see that wave boarding team!"

They headed off north east, in the direction Cream pointed out to them, and as they walked Amy looked around. Last time she had been here, the buildings had been made of brick, with a generous amount of ivy going up and down, but they were now made entirely of concrete. In addition, much of what had been lawn was now replaced with what looked like short bunkers, with stairs leading down everywhere. It was definitely a step down in terms of attractiveness, and the school's quality went down another notch in her head.

Cream noticed Amy's stare and began to explain. "As you can see, a lot has changed. The brick was really just a covering on the buildings, and some sort of weird insect had infested it so they had to take it down. A couple of months ago, the new principal started spending a lot on new science labs, and those bunkers are the result. I have no idea why they were built or why they're underground, but they won't let you into all of the labs unless you're a science teacher or one of the better students, so it could be dangerous to have them above ground. A lot of science teachers have been hired – the principal said that one of his goals was turning out more people able to assist the Elem R&D department, so that Elem can contribute more to the war."

Rouge was looking more serious as they kept walking. "This school doesn't have permission to spend their money on stuff like that. In fact, they don't even have the budget to support it; the money must be coming from somewhere else, and private donations to educational institutions are illegal."

Cream frowned. "Really? The rumor going around was that some alumni donated a lot of money."

"That's one hell of a donation; Small ones might be overlooked, but something like this is definitely out-of-bounds." Rouge frowned. "I'm not sure, but they look like they've been built pretty deep."

"I wouldn't know, I'm not a big science student. All the students who do get access to the deeper labs are pretty strange, and I don't spend time around them."

Suddenly stopping, Rouge narrowed her eyes as she continued to stare at the bunkers. "It looks like I can't escape my job no matter where I go. I don't believe this..."

Amy wanted to ask what the problem was with a few science buildings, but Rouge was already pulling her transceiver out again.

"Agent Onyx, confirmation code four, hare, seven, dynamo, eleven, theta. Secondary report, I'm inside the school and I'm now classifying it as a Class A investigation, due to what could possibly be a Code Three."

"Confirm, please. Johnson's School rated as Class A due to possible Code Three?"

"Correct. I'll need some backup to determine if it's true, but give me some time to determine how much."

"Affirmed. If you're right, no one's going to complain about that stunt you pulled earlier."

"Damn right! They shouldn't anyway! Agent Onyx out."

"Whatever, Agent Onyx. Command out."

Amy stared as Rouge replaced the transceiver. "What the hell was all that about!?"

Rouge smiled tightly. "It's nothing to be worried about. But, Cream, I'm going to have to ask you not to come to this school anymore, for any reason."

"What?" Cream gaped. "Why shouldn't I?"

"Sorry, I can't tell you that. Just trust me."

Amy began to get concerned. "Rouge, you can't just tell her to-"

"Yes, I can, and I am." The sharpness of Rouge's tone betrayed how strongly she felt. "I know much more about these things that you two do, so you should just trust me."

The grave look that was on Rouge's face drove away any objections Amy had. _I have no idea what the problem is, but it looks like it's serious. Best to listen to her._

Cream looked crushed. "But, what about the game we were going to play? Will we have to cancel that, too?"

Rouge smiled, relaxing a bit. "Not at all! In fact, I'll use it in my investigation, if you don't mind!"

"What do you mean," Amy asked. "How can a wave boarding game help in your investigation?"

"Don't worry about it, don't worry about it, leave that to me!" Rouge said, starting to walk off once again.

Amy shrugged, and followed the bat. Although she liked Rouge, they only met once in a while, and their relationship did not usually extend beyond those times. In addition, while the things said between them were confidential, Rouge never mentioned anything potentially damaging – she never went out and said she was going to steal something before hand, although she almost always admitted to it afterwards – and she _especially _did not say anything to do with her work for the government. Rouge took her job very seriously, and Amy wasn't about to try to breach that barrier.

Sensing her thoughts, Rouge grinned back at Amy. "It's worth the dedication. They pay well, and they have this guy who is the scariest person I have ever met. He's this little mouse, but he emits this aura of terror that I can't seem to ignore. He also happens to be in charge of punishment, so if I break any agreements I have to go see him."

Amy smiled. "I bet you're quite familiar with him."

Rouge winked. "Oh, yes. _Quite_ familiar. I get in trouble so much, you see, and he loves to... punish me."

Amy blanched, and turned to Cream to see her blushing furiously."I can never tell if you're serious or not, Rouge. If he's so scary, than how can you stand to be around him?"

"Oh, Amy dear, I like my dishes well flavored, and the greatest spice of life is fear. That, and pain..."

"Okay, stop there. Cream's so shocked she almost tripped over herself."

Rouge sighed. "Ah, I wish there were people my own age to talk to. My coworkers are all such bores, except the mouse of course, and children can be so dull..."

Amy grinned devilishly. "What, not enough of the spice of life for you?"

Rouge returned the grin. "It's not a matter of flavor, dear, it's a matter of _stamina_."

"I give up. I can't compete with you when it comes to subtly lewd conversations."

"Subtle? I wasn't being subtle. If I was being subtle, I'd be talking about how I'm a big advocate for well rounded education, and mention my experience as a teacher at Fullard High School."

"That's not that subtle," Cream said, coming out of her shock. "Even I can see through that!"

"It would be," Amy said while blushing, "if you knew that Fullard is famous for taking care of kids with socially unacceptable mutations."

"What do you mean, socially unacceptable mutations?"

"Take a _wild_ guess."

Cream paused for a second, and then blushed. "That's... disgusting."

Rouge laughed. "_Everyone_ deserves a well-rounded education, right? _Someone's_ got to be there for them. Besides, fear isn't the only spice!"

Both Amy and Cream couldn't help wondering whether Rouge was joking or not, and the rest of the walk was spent in a nervous silence – which Rouge seemed to bask in. When they finally got to the wave board court, the tension was so high that everyone practicing there immediately stopped playing and went over to investigate the nervous intruders.

The playing field was really more of an arena. There was an entrance for players, which the girls had come through, and on top of the concrete walls surrounding it were seats for an audience. Wave boarding was a sport which relied on a fairly useless technology that allowed special boards to ride on top of nigh-invisible waves created by huge emitters embedded in the walls surrounding the court. There were goals on both sides of the field for players to throw a ball into, but it was not as simple as simply flying over to them. The waves on which players rode were only wide enough for one person to fit on top of, and could go anywhere; only experience allowed you to anticipate where it would take you. Even then, there was an element of unpredictability to the sport, and while jumping from one wave to another was possible, it was easy to miss the waves and fall through to the ground.

The wave board team consisted of five active members, and what Amy assumed were two backup players sitting in the audience. All five of the active players were birds; compact bodies with shorter limbs, they were, individually, ideal for wave boarding. However, Amy knew from her limited playing time that an ideal team had a variety of players; the fast and furious game play of wave boarding made it impossible to match one player against another, so while a good team had members that could theoretically defend against anything, like this one, the best teams had a variety of players that would mess up the enemies defense and making scoring easier. The backup members, a chimp and a gorilla, were both capable of filling that niche, but they were engaged in a conversation of their own and seemed disengaged from the play field; they probably never got a chance to play.

All of the birds were varieties of hawks; small but fierce, they were very good at sports. This group, however, didn't seem to be playing for the love of it; an air of superiority clung to them like an acidic miasma, and it was pretty obvious that they existed as a clique outside of wave boarding. They were probably all from the same politician's extended family, or something.

The leader, a red-tailed hawk who was handsome in a sharp, cruel sort of way, swept over to them and hovered some twenty feet above them on his board. He smirked as he flew over, obviously attempting to impress them with what was, to Amy's eye, fairly average board work.

"What are you ladies doing here?" The hawk spotted Cream as he got closer. "You aren't associates of Tomboy there, are you? Why don't you ditch her and watch us practice?"

"Why," Rouge said lazily as she studied her nails, "would I want to watch a sub par team practice sub par maneuvers?"

The hawk's face flashed with irritation before returning to the cool, cruel expression he had held before. "Come now, you can't decide things like that without even watching us for more than five minutes. My name's Jonas, Jonas Keralhd."

"Mr. Keralhd," Rouge said, "Let me give you a bit of advice: don't try to show off with the 'Yol roll' maneuver if you still have to keep two feet on the board."

Jonas frowned. "I'm impressed you saw that. You must be one heck of a fan."

"Actually, I'm a player."

"A player?" Jonas smiled, finding amusement at the idea. "You can't be serious."

"Of course I am. Why would I lie on a playing field?"

Jonas laughed, and the rest of his team joined in. Jonas continued speaking between his chortles. "Hah! A girl, thinking she's a wave boarder! Who gifted you with that delusion!?"

Rouge's tolerance vanished. "Are you an idiot, or something? There are tons of female professional players."

The slight to his intelligence stopped Jonas' laughter. "Don't pretend you can judge me, woman. Anyone who knows anything knows that the female players are only let in because it satisfies the activists."

This time, it was Rouge's turn to laugh. She laughed and laughed, so hard she got on her knees and held her sides. Jonas, getting angrier by the second, dropped all pretenses of polite behavior.

"What's so damn funny, bitch?"

Rouge ignored the insult as she got back up, still wheezing slightly from her burst of hilarity. "Sorry, sorry. It's just, I've never heard, in my entire life, such a stupid, ill-informed, chauvinistic piece of crap come from someone so young. I am truly impressed. I had no idea the sins of the father could extend so far; in fact, from what I know about Chancellor Keralhd, you're even worse than he is."

Jonas seemed ready to attack them, but Rouge's words stopped him. "You know my father?"

Rouge smirked. "Yes, quite well. I work for the intelligence department, you see."

Amy opened her eyes; Chancellor Keralhd had recently complained publicly that the intelligence department was invading his privacy. They had denied this, saying that they did nothing more than what was required of them, but Rouge's words, while not enough to be incriminating, were enough of a hint to anger anyone in the family.

And anger they did. With a fierce cry, Jonas swept down at them on his wave board, holding out a fist for some violent intention. Amy didn't wait; she had no choice but to move.

Activating her jump shoes, she leaped up at the approaching hawk. Turning around mid flight, she barely managed to get her feet on the tip of the board. The board, forced to a sudden stop by her momentum, turned upright despite the precautions put in place to prevent such a thing happening. Jonas squawked as he barely managed to stay attached thanks to the electro magnetic pull between his boarder shoes and the board itself. The bottom of the board, filled with the jutting extensions of the wave-riding mechanism, gave Amy plenty of places to brace herself, and she placed one foot down to keep herself balanced.

The board continued to float despite being upright, resting on the invisible waves on which the sport depended. Jonas, struggling not to fall, glared at Amy with a mixture of anger and fear. "What the hell did you do, bitch!?"

Amy smirked. "Just playing a little game. Guess you're not good enough to compete with me."

And before the bird could say anything else, or one of his teammates could rescue him, she placed both of her feet against the tip once more and leaped off. The full force of her jump, applied against the board, sent it rotating again, until it was fully upside down. Unable to remain on the wave anymore, the board fell, with Jonas crying in fear as he remained underneath it. The engine, now on top, continued to emit thrust, preventing the safety net that shot out from doing anything except pad Jonas' fall. With a large thump and a small explosion of dirt, he landed unceremoniously on the dirt playing field.

Amy was in far more danger. In her haste, she had forgotten about landing, and her flight peaked at something around thirty feet. Twisting around in the air, she tried to predict where she would land. The safety net, which was designed to protect the players, would not help her – she was not marked with a beacon, and thus a net would not be shot out to stop her fall.

Instead, she landed on the ground with all of her momentum intact. Thankfully, she controlled her flight, and her feet were what hit the ground and absorbed the shock; the shoes even seemed to emit a burst of thrust to soften her fall. However, while her legs did not get damaged, she experienced just what she had predicted she would back when she first tried out the shoes – pain.

Dirt is softer than asphalt, though, so it was not as terrible as it could have been. A grunt escaped from her lips, and while she didn't try to stand up immediately, she was, otherwise, fine.

Cream and Rouge came running over, Cream's eyes open in concern and Rouge's twinkling in enjoyment. Cream put both of her hands on Amy's shoulders as soon as she reached them, and her voice was filled to the brim with concern as she said, "Amy, are you okay!?"

"I'm fine, Cream. My legs just hurt a little."

"Well," Rouge said, "I did _not_ expect that. Those are some shoes you're wearing, Amy!"

"Now is not the time for that, Ms. Rouge!" Cream said in exasperation. "Amy, what were you thinking! That was so dangerous!"

"Yeah, well," Amy said, giving Rouge a level stare, "I had to do _something_. It was pretty obvious that Rouge was itching for an opportunity to knock some sense into that kid, and she wouldn't have been gentle about it."

"True," Rouge said with a smile, "I was planning to plant a foot in his gut as he passed, and then create a crater in the ground with his body as an object of impact, but you beat me to it. I'm kinda pissed that you stole the opportunity from me."

Cream was non-plussed. "How can you all be so violent! We could have just dodged to the side!"

"Where's the fun in that?"

"There shouldn't _be_ any fun in attacking! If we had dodged, no one would have gotten hurt. Instead, you tried to attack him when you didn't have to, and Amy had to intervene to prevent you from seriously injuring him!"

"Just because I don't have to attack doesn't me I _shouldn't_ attack. Why should I care about the health of a prick like that?"

Amy groaned. "Don't you two _dare_ get into an argument right now!"

Rouge stopped short, turned to Amy, and nodded. "You're right; that maneuver of yours deserves that much."

Cream hesitantly agreed. "I don't think it was necessary, but I definitely think it showed Jonas who's boss!"

"I don't know about that," Amy said resignedly, slowly standing up, "but I don't think he'll underestimate us anymore."

Jonas quickly climbed out from under his board, relatively unhurt; while he had fallen badly, it was from half of the height Amy had, and with the protection of the net. It barely seemed to have fazed him; he came charging in, dragging his board behind him.

"You freak," he shouted as he came closer, "How dare you do that to me! I'll show you, you freak tomboy! Nobody messes with me!" And with that, he tossed his board at Amy.

She caught it with one hand, and put it between both before responding. "Guess I was wrong. Your family has a lot of inter-cousin marriages, doesn't it? Perhaps I should do your family a favor."

Straining her muscles once again that day, Amy crushed the board between her hands. It splintered with the sound of plastic, metal, and more exotic materials mashing together into a volume too small to contain them all. When she was finished, what had formerly been a board of considerable mass was now more of a short pole, made of crumpled metal and fractured plastic.

Jonas lifted a foot, but it wavered between going backwards and going forwards. Judging from his face, he was probably experiencing the scariest moment in his life combined together with his most infuriating one.

Amy smiled evilly. "I'd probably give you the stereotypical 'You're either very brave or very stupid,' line, but we all know the truth."

Rouge nodded. "He's stupid."

So did Cream. "Yes, he's just stupid."

Silently, Jonas' team agreed.

Jonas tried to say something, but he just kept opening his mouth and closing it, emitting a few squeaks but otherwise staying silent.

"Well, let me reassure you that I'm not going to squeeze you to death," Amy said, starting to walk forward. "That would be too easy. No, I was just streamlining it for entry before I shove it down your throat." She looked more carefully at the remains in her hands, and ripped off a particularly sharp piece of metal that had been thrusting out. "Oops, don't want it to rip anything on the way down."

With this, Jonas finally dropped all pretenses and ran away, screaming for help. Birds are not great runners, though, and it was insultingly easy for Amy to match his pace. She ran forward until she was just behind him, and playfully began poking him with the decimated board, urging him to move faster.

Cream and Rouge just stared. The team wasn't moving, probably terrified of sharing the same fate. Amy was laughing maniacally as Jonas continued to try to escape in vain, and Cream sighed.

"Alright, you win. She'll be a mercenary."

"Knew you'd come around to my way of thinking."


	6. Chapter 6

Here is Chapter 6. I hope you enjoy. It was originally designed to be two smaller chapters, but they fit well together.

* * *

"I'm sorry," Kahn said, "but it is simply not possible for us to have an official match right now. As I'm sure you saw, we are in need of much training. We're not ready for any matches at all, much less one against opponents of your caliber."

"We came all the way here, and you're saying you're not going fight against us?" Rouge looked disdainfully at the hawk. "What happened to male pride, to the belief that 'mere woman' can't compete?"

"While those two attributes are, perhaps, displayed in our captain, I abstain from them."

"Fine then," Rouge said as she turned and began to walk away, "I'll just have a private chat with your captain later."

"Wait, please!" Kahn said urgently, chasing after her. "Let's come to some arrangement. It would be best if the negotiations were between us, don't you think?"

"I don't know," Rouge said with a crooked smile, "Janus is so much easier to... convince."

Amy just watched from her sitting position, having exhausted herself torturing Janus. In truth, she hadn't done much more than chase him around, but what was full speed for a bird was a rather exhausting hybrid between walking and jogging for Amy. She could have just gone circles around him, but that wouldn't have been as fun.

The person Rouge was negotiating with, Kahn, was the second in command of the team, and by far the smartest of the bunch. The youngest member of a family that had served the Kerahld family as butlers for centuries, he had immediately recognized Amy and Rouge for who they were, but did not have time to intervene before Janus got himself into trouble. Since the only reason he was attending the school was to keep Jamus safe, he was desperately trying to avoid another fight, and arrive at the most peaceful resolution he could.

According to Cream, Kahn, despite his fearsome name, was calm and collected. Although he was by no means kind, he did not enjoy the sociological torture that Janus did, and always chose the simplest, wisest solution. This sometimes meant doing things like sabotaging Cream's attempts to play wave boarding, but while she still disliked him, Cream had realized that the pain he caused was relatively tame, compared to what Janus did. He was, in essence, a loyal supporter of Janus who never opposed his decisions unless they were dangerous to Janus himself, instead trying to minimize the damage he caused. The perfect servant, in other words.

And he had one hell of a master. The fool had continued to spout profanities and insults, even after he had lost the strength to stand, much less run. All it had done was incite Amy to throw him around the field a few times, but she had to give the little shit credit; he had only stopped insulting her after he had fallen unconscious. If the entire family was that stubborn, it was no wonder they had maintained such a prominent position in Elem's government throughout the ages.

The team had come down to the ground only after Amy had finished; the looks Rouge had given them had been enough to warn them from interfering. Kahn had come forward to ask what their purpose in coming had been, and Rouge had explained how she was hoping to have a match with the team. Unfortunately, Kahn had responded with a refusal; they had just started playing, and had nowhere near the level of skill needed to play in a real game. Rouge had attempted to convince him otherwise, but Kahn had been adamant in his stance, and she hadn't gotten anywhere.

Rouge wasn't about to give up, though. She had a trump card; she could always come back later and incite Janus into accepting pretty much anything she wanted. This meant that Kahn had to come to some sort of accommodation, sooner or later.

"Come on," Rouge said, "Three members of our team haven't even been on a team, so we're about even in levels of skill. It won't be a ranking match, just one to settle whether or not Cream here is good enough to wave board."

Kahn shook his head in firm denial. "Our coach has said many times that we are not allowed to accept any challenges until he says we're good enough. We're not just any team; we're the team for Johnson's School for the Gifted and Worthy, and losses mean everything to us. Even if it's not ranked, people will hear of it, and will come to see; if we lose, which we most certainly will with you as our opponents, it will permanently mark us."

Rouge sniffed. "Not that I disagree, but you seem pretty sure you can't win. Don't you have any pride?"

Kahn smiled wryly, his beak turning slightly crooked. "I have been trained to be a butler to the Keralhd family since I was born. I have pride only in what counts: my ability to serve the Keralhd family. I know full well what you are capable of, Rouge; your current occupation is known to me, as well as how good you are at what you do. I am also not about to underestimate Amy the Hedgehog, especially after that little show. And finally, I came to know Cream's resourcefulness when I was forced to stop her attempts to play with us myself. All three of you are fierce opponents, and if I can resolve this without it coming to a direct confrontation, then I will have succeeded in my duty."

Rouge sighed. "We're not just trying to have a game with anyone, you know. We won't settle for anything less than a chance to show that ass of a captain that Cream is a capable player."

"I would appreciate it if you refrained from insulting master Janus."

"Whatever. If you can't play now, then how long do you think it will take for your team to become competent?"

"I don't know. Only the coach can say."

"Then how about I speak with him? Where is he?"

"I'm not sure; we're supposed to be practicing with him right now." Kahn looked around, before turning to the player's entrance. "It appears he is coming as we speak. You can talk to him about a match if you wish; he's the only person who could authorize such a thing."

The coach, the bear from earlier, was indeed approaching. As he came closer, it became clear that he was furious.

"What the _hell_," the coach practically roared at them as he stomped his way closer, "is going on here!? Why did I get a report, in the middle of a meeting with the principal, that one of my star wave board players was getting _assaulted_?" He opened his eyes wide when he saw Cream, along with Rouge and Amy. "And now that I'm here, I see you three are involved in it? You shouldn't even be in this school right now; how did you get in?"

Rouge smiled. "We resolved our disagreement in a creative way."

"I don't know what that's supposed to mean, but no one just escapes suspension like that in _this_ school. I'm going to have to ask you to leave. _Now_."

"Sorry, but we have business that needs to be resolved."

"There are two ways you can _resolve_ your issues: outside the school, or with my _fist_."

Rouge stepped forward, an excited cruelty growing on her face. "That sounds interesting. I haven't... _danced_ in a while, at least not with a good partner. How about it, big guy? Care to tango?"

The bear narrowed his eyes. "I know who you are, Rouge. Don't think I'd go easy on you."

"And I know who you are. Tawdy Kuma, the reputed sports genius. I didn't recognize you at the gate, especially because of the way you were stammering and, well, lying. Looks like this school doesn't have_completely_ incompetent staff!"

Tawdy growled. "I never stammer, and I was most definitely not_lying_. It's not my fault if Cream here mistook my words."

Cream stepped forward. "I didn't mistake anything! You said, word-for-word, 'Cream, you're free to do what you want. You have the rest of the day off.' That's pretty implicit!"

"I _meant_ 'The rest of the day off _from sports'_. If I was going to give you permission to leave school, I would say it outright! Next time, double check my meaning!"

Cream remained angry. "I'm still getting in trouble for skipping class! And it's all your fault!"

Tawdy gave her a hard stare. "It's not my fault you jumped at the chance to leave school. I expected a kid like you to think more clearly about things like this, but apparently I was wrong. Besides, why do you think I was with the principal? I explained to him the miscommunication, and your punishment has been reduced to just the suspension. Well, it was. You're breaking that suspension now, and you'll have to be punished further for it."

Rouge stepped right in front of the bear. "I'm protecting her. You want to punish her, you'll have to go through me."

Tawdy cracked his fingers. "I'll be happy to oblige."

The two squared off, Rouge placing one foot gracefully ahead of the other and keeping her hands held out for balance, while Tawdy got into a fighter's stance that, despite its simplicity, displayed years of experience.

Amy got up, sighing. "Jeez, why is it always _me_ that has to stop people from fighting?" She stepped between the two. "C'mon, this doesn't need to come to blows. Let's talk it out."

Tawdy remained focused on his opponent. "Don't interfere, girly."

Amy turned around, a vein on her forehead throbbing. "Don't underestimate me, punk, or you'll end up like Janus over there. I'm trying to save you some pain; if you really knew Rouge, you wouldn't be picking a fight with her!"

Tawdy's fury returned. "_You're_ the one who messed up my player!? You're going to regret that!"

"Bring it on!" Amy shouted back.

Rouge remained in her fighting stance, but she no longer looked excited; instead, she was almost worried. "Amy, I think you should leave this one to me."

"No way!" Amy spread her feet, getting a better balance. "This guy is pissing me off. If he's the one who encouraged Janus to be such an ass, it's my duty to take him down as well!"

Tawdy audibly growled, and swung a back hand towards the hedgehog. Amy caught it, but to her surprise it lifted her off the ground slightly and sent her sliding backwards. She recovered and came to a stop, but she'd be sporting bruises later.

_This guy is strong! I'll have to take him seriously!_

She backed off and got some distance. Ignoring Rouge's cries, now mixed together with Cream's, she ran in a circle around the bear, trying to put him off guard. It didn't seem to work, as Tawdy got into a more flexible stance and kept his eyes on her no matter where she ran, but she kept on running any way. She was still a little tired from Janus' punishment, and needed this opportunity to get to full speed at her leisure.

After almost a full minute of circling, she suddenly turned, and headed straight for the bear. He immediately faced her and braced himself; it was clear that he was going to try to deflect her blow and counterattack. Amy found herself smiling; he obviously had never fought an opponent of her speed before. He wouldn't even see it coming.

Abruptly, she slid the last few feet, using her momentum to keep her going at almost fifty miles an hour. She got as low as possible and, just as she reached Tawdy, put all her momentum and strength into a debilitating punch aimed at his abs.

She wasn't quite certain what happened next. Impossibly, Tawdy's hand landed on her arm despite the speed it was moving at. Her punch was deflected, and her weight put off balance. She felt a slight touch on the back of her head and on the front of her foot; then her world spun. Before she realized she was being thrown, her momentum had been switched from placing her fist into his gut, to smashing her face into the ground.

She slid for a full ten feet, and her face created a furrow for that entire length. She had managed to close her eyelids, thankfully, but while the ground was dirt, it was far from soft. Rocks and hard clods hit her, and she panicked when one impacted her eyelid. She suddenly, and painfully, came to a stop when her head rammed a stone too large for it to move aside.

She slowly raised herself, gingerly feeling for damage. There were a few small cuts, packed with dirt and needing some cleaning, and some sore spots that she flinched away from, but otherwise she was fine. Her eye was undamaged, as was her skull. All she had was bruises and superficial injuries; she'd be fine in a day or two. Nothing was seriously hurt.

Except her pride, that was.

Cream was, predictably, the first to reach her in her haste. Surprisingly, Rouge was almost as fast, and looked just as concerned.

Cream placed her hands on Amy's shoulders, shaking them in her panic. "Are you alright, Amy!? Are you hurt anywhere!?"

"No, I'm fine," Amy said in a quiet voice, disgust at her failure washing through despite her attempts to hold it in. "Just some bruises and small cuts."

"That was a nasty fall," Rouge said, standing behind Cream. "Do you think you have a concussion?"

Amy waved her away. "No, no, I'm fine. I didn't hit anything _that_hard. It was mostly just a bunch of small bumps adding together. Besides, I have a hard head."

Rouge sighed. "That's an understatement. I _warned_ you not to fight him, but you didn't listen to me. That guy's a pro; he may only fight as a sport, but he's _very_ good at it."

Amy turned away, feeling like a dunce and wishing she had a corner to hide in. "How was I supposed to know that?"

"Stop pouting," Rouge said in annoyance. "Next time, listen when I tell you to back off! This should be a good lesson!"

"I certainly hope it is."

Amy flinched as she turned to see Tawdy approaching, his face full of the confidence that an easy victory brings. He stood straight, hands on his hips; his eyes were full of pity for the loser, tempered by concern for the wounded. His voice was awash with the casual superiority the master has over the student, but it couldn't hide the curving twist pride lent to his smile. Amy _hated_ it.

He stared at Amy, examining her. "You're remarkably tough. You don't seem to be terribly hurt." He held up his hands as Amy glared at him fiercely. "That wasn't an invitation to fight again. Let's just leave it at this, huh?"

He held out a hand, and Amy grudgingly took it. As she came to her feet, dizziness threatened to send her crashing back down to the ground, but she forced herself to be steady.

"Next time," Amy said, her voice full of anger, "I will beat that arrogant smile into the ground. That's a promise!"

Her words were, at their core, formed from the pain of her loss, but to everyone's ears it sounded like false bravado. Tawdy laughed, mocking Amy further by releasing the tension he had held since Rouge had challenged him- to him, there was no one here to fight.

"That's fine. Just make sure that the next time, it's a _challenge_, not a _beat down_."

Rouge stepped forward, getting in between the two. "Here's an idea – why don't you, along with the your team, play a wave board game against us? You get to settle your score with Amy, and we get to prove to your 'captain' that Cream can wave board."

"I have no 'score' to settle. I don't see why I should agree to such a thing."

"First of all," Rouge said, her voice turning quiet, "I would think you would jump at the opportunity to have Amy settle her score in a way that isn't likely to get you seriously hurt."

Tawdy smiled cruelly. "There's no chance of that happening anyway."

Rouge glared. "Your fault for underestimating her. Second, Cream here will stop bothering you to join the team, win or lose."

Amy had to smile. _That's quite the promise there, Rouge. Cream's going to leave the school anyway, so that's a moot point, but they don't know that._

Tawdy put his hand on his chin. "Hmm. I've tried to convince her that the rest of the team is just too much against her joining, but she hasn't listened. Alright, we have a deal. In a month, we'll have a game here, in this field."

Rouge put her hand out, and they shook. After giving Amy one last analytic look, Tawdy turned around and headed back to his players. They all followed him to where Janus was resting, unconscious. There, Tawdy began looking over Janus' wounds, which were few and shallow, as he sat down.

After making sure that Tawdy was out of earshot, Amy released a breath. "Ow. I got my ass royally kicked."

"Very true," Rouge said, without a hint of pity.

Now certain that Amy was going to be alright, Cream's concerned look turned to a glare. "You're the one who picked the fight, so don't whine."

"I'm not whining. I'm evaluating my situation. Besides, we have a game now. It all turned out for the best."

"If you had left it to me," Rouge said, "I would have accomplished the same feat, but without the landscaping. What made you think attacking him was a smart thing to do?"

"I thought that punch was going to hit! I still don't understand how he managed to deflect my punch. I was moving too fast!"

"Maybe for one of Eggman's robots," Rouge said with disdain, "but for an experienced fighter? Putting that much momentum and force into a single punch is just asking for it!"

"Well," Amy said, "That explains it. I've never fought anyone_but_ Eggman's robots."

"Good thing Tails is offering to fix that problem, huh?"

"Yeah, Amy said, turning her head away, "I guess."

She couldn't help but feel hurt to her core by her defeat. This was the first time Amy had ever really _failed_. Sure, that was because she had never attempted anything this crazy, but she had her pride. She could smash up Eggman's robots, if not quite as well as Sonic could, at least with relative ease.

When Tails had first given her the idea of becoming stronger, of changing her life, Amy hadn't really understood what it meant. She had her niche – she was better than your average citizen, but not as good as Sonic. Tails had proposed moving out of that niche, but to Amy losing that niche meant moving back down to being a citizen. After all, it simply wasn't possible to become like Sonic, right?

But Tails had insisted that she move upwards instead, of doing the impossible, and Amy had begun to believe in those words despite herself. She still found herself believing, but the distance she had to climb had now become outlined to her.

She had seen Sonic take out guys like Tawdy before, with ease. He had had a reputation a few years ago for crushing the contenders who had come after him; before he had become so famous that no one dared challenge him, he had fought with pretty much everyone under the sun, and won against them all.

Now Amy had tried the same thing, and been crushed herself. She wasn't about to give up – it was stupid to condemn herself for failing before she had even gotten any stronger – but what Tails had painted as a hill for her to climb was actually a cliff for her to scale. It wasn't a matter of just trying anymore; she needed friends, friends like Tails, to help her.

She turned back to Rouge. "I have a favor to ask."

Rouge looked slightly surprised. "What?"

"Would you be willing to help Tails train me?"

Rouge smiled. "Of course! I thought that was a given!"

"Me too," Cream said, "I'm willing to help!"

Rouge snorted. "She's trying to become better at being violent. Do you really want to support something like that?"

"I wouldn't help with something like that. I'll help her become a heroine!"

"I thought we had agreed she was going to be a mercenary."

"It's never too late to change your ways! I'll keep her on the right path if it kills me!"

"Be careful what you wish for, girly."

"Are you threatening me!?"

"I would never _dream_ of it, dear."

"I bet that's _all_ you dream of, of being some some sort of thuggish queen!"

"Hah! My dreams are always filled with jewels. I have no interest in royalty."

"What if it was the queen of thieves? I bet you dream about – wait a second! Don't try to distract me! I'm going to make her a heroine, and you can't stop me!"

"I don't need to. After she realizes what a pain in the ass it is, Amy's going to stop you herself. Besides, don't you have school?"

"Thanks to you, no, I don't."

"It's not my fault you blinded yourself to this school's faults and only paid attention to 'becoming a lady.' How shortsighted can you be?"

"Hey! Being a lady is a good thing! Besides, this was a good school when I first applied. Its only changed recently!"

"Sure, sure..."

Amy listened to the two argue, wondering if they would ever agree on anything for more than a few seconds. Shaking her head, she walked over to the nearby faucet, and began washing her wounds. There weren't that many; her tough physique had saved her once again. After finishing, she checked her watch and, realizing it was almost four o'clock, Amy decided it was time to move on. She still had a few things to do, and it would be nice if she could get all her stuff moved into Tails' lab before tomorrow.

Interrupting Rouge and Cream, she found they were both indisposed. Rouge had to continue her investigation; she'd visit Amy the next day. Cream, on the other hand, had realized she needed to explain things to her mother, and figured she'd probably get grounded for a while. Getting caught skipping, no matter how unfair the circumstances, would net her in a heap of trouble. While she wanted to help Amy, she wouldn't have the opportunity.

So they split up with a cheerful farewell, Rouge remaining on campus while Cream went to the street to hunt down a taxi. Amy left the school as well, but she jumped up top of a nearby roof. She would be heading home, but she still wanted to get used to her new shoes. Besides, what better way to soothe her bruised pride than to revel in a new toy?

As she leaped from building to building, she continued to practice using her new shoes. While her success with them had been great for her first day using them, she recognized that there was a lot of room for improvement. She didn't always go quite where she meant to, and she still had trouble with exactly how far she jumped. Once she could control these new shoes like she did her normal jumps, she could say she'd mastered them, but right now she needed practice.

She took a roundabout route to her home, and was almost six by the time she arrived. She was tired, both from the two hours she spent leaping about the city, and from her beating at the school; instead of taking the stairs, like she usually did, she took the elevator. Once the doors had closed and it had begun moving up to the fifty third floor, where Amy lived, she leaned back into the wall and sighed deeply.

_What a day!_

She grinned as that thought went through her head; it was an understatement. Demonic robots, rocket-helicopters, Tails and his over-the-top lab. His promises of a brighter future, and an explanation of some of the stranger functions of her body. Living with the pains of the day before, forgetting them, and then letting them all out in the comforting presence of friends. A wild visit to Cream's school, with both success and failure intertwined, and a new, visible goal that Amy could conceive herself fulfilling – her victory in wave boarding.

It had been one_hell_ of a day, and she was tired. Still, she couldn't relax just yet. There were two things she still had to deal with: moving into Tails' lab, and notifying her superiors at Alimo that she would be taking an extended leave of absence. No; she would be _quitting_, and starting a life free from the mundane diversions that had held her back before. Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Rouge, Shadow; none of these people led simple lives, and if she wanted to live like they did, she would have to drop her job, permanently.

She phoned in, and to her surprise found that Tails had already managed everything for her. He had cleaned it all up; she was getting a glorious letter of recommendation, for whatever that was worth to her now, as well as a paycheck for all her services rendered thus far. It annoyed her that the fox had preempted her like this, but it had all turned out well, so she forgave him.

She still had her old suitcases, things which Tails had given her when she had moved from her previous apartment; they moved on their own and vacuum-sealed their contents. She packed all of her old clothes, and filled up two suitcases – even if she could make as many as she wanted in Tails' lab, she already had plenty that pleased her. The rest of her belongings got thrown into the three other suitcases, which automatically padded the contents so that they wouldn't be tossed around while the cases were in motion.

Books, magazines, folders and boxes of eye-catching bits and pieces she had seen over the years. Pictures, music cartridges, her modest music system. Her portable movie player, her personal holographic communication system, and tons of electronic devices and machines (Knowing him, Tails would probably confiscate it all sooner or later, and return some alternate version that was smaller, more efficient, and had far less class, along with a host of useless features. Seriously, her last coffee pot had doubled as a tazer. It didn't even make any sense!).

After everything was packed and ready to go, she commanded the five bags to make their way down to the garage and wait in front of her car. She herself took one last look at her apartment.

Except for the few pieces of furniture she had brought into it, the expansive one-room apartment was now completely bare; everything had gone into the bags. She hadn't felt capable of looking through her belongings and deciding which things were necessary and which weren't – too many memories. It had taken a lot of effort, but even the small gifts that Sonic had given her over the years had gone into the bags: A small feather from a seagull in that alternate world, a pressed flower from some far-away forest. He had even given her Eggman's coffee cup once, decorated with the mad scientist's logo and the words, 'Best in the World', which Sonic had stolen on a whim. All of it had gone into the bags, and she wouldn't be unpacking them for a while if she could help it.

She took one last look out the window, at the huge park that sat in the middle of all these tall buildings, and then went to the elevator herself. She dropped off a letter at the superintendent's room before heading to the garage, unlocked her car, and told her bags to load themselves. Sitting down in the driver's seat, she paused before starting the engine.

_This might be the last time I ever use this car. If Tails has his way with me, I'll be limiting myself to going on foot for the rest of my life, just like Sonic. This car has served me well for almost three years now; I'll be kind of sad to see it go._

It wasn't an especially _good_ car, or even that pleasant-looking. But it had worked, and gotten her where she needed to go. She felt a certain connection with it, sort of like it was an old ally of hers. Tails would probably spout some nonsense about it being a symbol of her reliance on others if she told him how she felt about the vehicle, but she didn't care. Besides, that wasn't necessarily a bad thing; she'd let it remain a symbol, and think of it when she doubted herself in the future.

She turned the key, and the car started, a near silent rumble reaching out from under the hood as the fusion-battery powered engine came to life.

_I wish Sonic was this reliable. Men..._

She quickly drove out into the streets of Anse, and made her way to Tails' lab. The streets were ironically crowded, thanks to the preemptive attempts to avoid rush hour traffic. Plus, the aftermath of her flight that morning still hadn't died down quite yet. It was slow going, and it took her almost four hours to make it to the lab. Night had fallen, and her watch read ten thirty as she pulled into the lab.

She was tired, from a day of activity and a viciously long drive, and nearly cried out in thanks as the front shutters opened up. Tails had waited for her, and she wouldn't have to head in through the side door to open up the front entrance, like he had told her to do the last time she had driven her car to his place!

She accelerated her car slowly as the shutters opened at an equally sluggish pace, but stopped when she realized that they weren't opening to let her_in_, but something else _out_. When the doorway was completely unobstructed, that _something_ lumbered out, stopping in front of her car.

It was a large mech, and not just any mech, oh no. Its arms were tipped with laser cannons, its legs were built to keep it stable in combat, and its expansive chest plate was covered with armored hatches, presumably filled with mini-missiles. But worse than all the weapons, all the armor plating and combat sensors that studded its surface, was the pilot.

It was the imp. That devil of a robot, that psychotic machine that had terrorized the city this morning, was now at the helm of a _war machine_.

Ooh, boy, was Tails going to get a _lecture_.

The mech stabilized itself, hissing jets of air pressure keeping it carefully balanced, and the arm-mounted laser cannons focused on her car. The imp's voice echoed out from on top of of the two tons of compacted steel.

"I am Conan, and I am making you my woman!"

Amy stared, and then retrieved her hammer (which she hadn't packed, thankfully) before stepping outside.

"Huh?"

"You heard me," the imp said with what could only be called a robotic attempt at a lecherous tone. "You are my woman! Prostrate before me!"

"I'm not going to even bother pointing out the boatload of impossibilities in that statement. Whatever you think 'being your woman' entails, I'm refusing."

"I warn you, I'm-"

"If you blow up my car," Amy said, her voice a silken hiss reminiscent of a shadow planting velvet-covered razor blades in your bed, "I am going to drain you body of animatium. Do you have _any_ idea what that's like?"

The robot hesitated. "Uh, no."

_Neither do I. I'm a genius!_ "Trust me, you don't want to. Point those guns away from my car."

The imp paused, and then complied. "Have it your way," he said, before re-training the weapons on Amy.

Amy sighed, before raising her hammer over her head. She swung it towards the large mech with all her strength, and let go. Flying through the air, it impacted on the chest plate with a large bang, and the mech slowly tipped backwards before falling on its back. The imp, struggling at the controls, tried to return his ride to standing position, but found it impossible. He flew out of his seat at the (former) top position on the mech, and glared at Amy.

"That was mean!"

Amy retrieved her hammer. Then she began laughing, and started to head towards the imp, her weapon thrown over her shoulder. Her eyes carried the promise of destruction, and each step was like the approach of death.

"Woman scorned, indeed," the imp muttered, before flying out of her range.

At least, what he_thought_ was out of her range. To his surprise, Amy suddenly leaped towards him, and faster than he had thought possible, she was far, far too close. He didn't have time to dodge her hammer swing, and went flying down to impact on the ground.

He was pretty much unharmed, (Amy wasn't even _close_ to finishing him yet) but his sensors were messed up from the fall. He was unable to move as Amy landed, and then walked forward towards him.

Before more damage could be done, however, Tails came rushing out the entrance. He skidded to a stop and, analyzing what he saw, stepped towards Amy.

"Don't hurt him, please. He was just playing around."

There was a slight crazed look in Amy's eyes as she turned to the fox. "Oh, I was just playing around as well. Actually, I wanted to play with _you_, Tails. I have to thank you for giving him a _war machine_!"

"It's just a toy I made for him. He wasn't going to hurt anyone."

_"He was going to blow up my car!"_

Tails leaned forward before whispering in Amy's ear. "The guns don't work."

Amy paused, and a bit of her sanity returned. "Does, does he know that?"

"Nope."

Amy let out laugh, this one far more friendly. "Do you know what he said to me?"

"Something involving Conan, I imagine."

"He called me 'his woman', and said that I needed to 'prostrate myself before him'."

"Sorry. I put a lock on the entertainment center this morning, but he hacked it and watched a movie about some barbarian thief, or something. He gets a huge kick out of those human movies."

Amy sighed tiredly before pointing to her car. "Mind if I get my stuff inside?"

"No problem. I'll be a little busy disciplining mister barbarian over here," Tails said, pointing to the still stunned robot, "so do what you wish."

Amy nodded, got back into her car, and drove inside. Then she told her bags to get out and follow her as she made her way to the living quarters that would be her new home for the foreseeable future.

She unpacked a few things, and then went right to sleep. Tomorrow, after all, was going to be just as big a day. She'd need all her energy for it.


	7. Chapter 7

Hello all. Here is chapter 7.

* * *

As Amy awoke, she yawned and stretched, feeling refreshed and energetic. After a night of rest, of her mind reorganizing the clutter and wreckage that the unbelievable events of the day before had caused, everything seemed both clearer, and more distant. Thinking of Sonic hurt a little less, and in her memory his words seemed to be somehow... padded, but the path before her was concrete and firm. Tails had opened a door for her, and she found herself being drawn through it inexorably. Her hot-headed and admittedly rash actions the day before were proof enough of that pull; normally she was staying away from trouble, not causing it. A part of her drew a perverse sense of satisfaction from that reversal, as any kind of control over her life was better than none, and she smiled as she climbed out of her bed.

Looking around the room she had chosen the night before, she saw her bags lined up in a corner, one of them open and trailing partially removed clothing like a kind of textile intestine. She opened up a different bag, looking for her exercise clothes, but then remembered she had left them in a different room.

She walked out the door and made her way to the room she had changed in the day before, navigating the complex hallways. When she had arrived with her baggage the night before, she had chosen a large room that was close to both the elevator and the medical section, and had convenient access to both washing machines and showers. The place where she had changed before heading out to meet Rouge was nothing as deliberately chosen, and she had to keep peaking in through doorways, hoping each one would contain her creations from the day before. It took her almost thirty minutes to find them, and a glance at her watch told her it was around 7:20; Tails would be getting impatient soon enough.

She took her clothes back to the room she had chosen and grabbed a towel, along with some toiletries, before heading for the showers. By the time she got there, it was already half past seven; she'd have to be fast with her shower. Luckily, the showers were, while completely void of any beauty, very efficient and industrially clean. Various helpful gizmos, like a shower head that seemed to anticipate where it would be needed and a blow dryer that proved her towel unnecessary, made her morning ritual record-fast, and as she jogged into the elevator her watch read 7:45.

She sent the elevator rocketing down to B5, and set out for where she had left off with Tails the day before. As she walked into the chamber that held the medical scanning machine he had used on her, she was surprised to see him chatting with Rouge, showing her the various devices.

"You'll like this," he continued, oblivious to Amy's presence as he showed Rouge some machine that Amy had steered away from the day before, due to its excess of sharp pointy bits. "It forces people to tell the truth via a complicated series of electric currents; I call it 'Tautology X-Plus'."

Rouge frowned in thought, but then came to an understanding. "Ah, I understand 'Tautology'. But, why 'X-Plus'?"

Tails sighed. "There were twenty three failures before the 'Tautology X', and since I made this one easier to tie people to, I added 'Plus' to the end. Finding a way to force people to tell the truth without using any serums was a lot more difficult than I thought."

Rouge smirked. "How honest. If you had claimed it was for 'stylistic purposes,' I would have believed you, you know."

"I'd rather be known as a scientist who fails twenty three times before getting it right, than a scientist who makes up silly names for his inventions. I have enough problems maintaining my dignity in front of the government officials already; I don't need to add childish obsessions to their list of reasons why I shouldn't be trusted with highly destructive weapons."

"I don't know," Amy said, taunting him cheerfully. "I think 'Naming Obsession' would blend in pretty well with the other obsessions on the list. Wasn't one of your excuses for needing a test site out in the wilderness, 'So I could see how much firepower it takes to permanently taint the earth'?"

Tails turned around, the gleeful expression on his face at Amy's appearance mismatched with his defensive body gestures. "It was a simple experiment, and one that needed to be done. How else am I supposed to find the limits within which I can work without going past them? Besides, it's good to have a place where I can test various methods to _remove_ said taint."

Amy patted the fox on the head. "Right, right. You're going to become a mad scientist one day, I swear." She ruffled his hair for good measure, and then turned to Rouge as he tried to fix it with a pouting expression. "I see you came. Is Tails giving you some kind of tour?"

"Oh yes," Rouge said, smiling viciously, "and I can promise that you're life is going to be very interesting from now on! Like that ancient Avian curse; 'You will live in interesting times'!"

"That bad, huh?"

"Oh, yeah. Tails made up some new stuff yesterday, just for you. I especially loved the 'Boulder Flinger'."

Amy winced. "What, am I supposed to dodge flying hunks of rock now? That doesn't seem very safe!"

"I wouldn't think up something so crude," Tails said, forcing himself back into the conversation. "You'll be catching them, and then throwing them at targets. Its strength, endurance, awareness, and accuracy training all rolled into one elegant exercise."

"Elegant!? In what way!? I'm not a cave-dwelling thug, Tails, give me a break!"

"It's elegant because you are one of the only creatures capable of doing it. It's elegant not in the sense of your movement, although I'm sure Rouge here would be capable of doing much of the exercise and make it look that way, but rather in an evolutionary sense."

Amy rolled her eyes. "You have the _weirdest_ sense of beauty I've ever heard of, Tails."

Tails sniffed. "I understand. It's hard not to be jealous when my sense of aesthetics is on a higher plane than yours."

"Tails, Tails, you're quite mistaken. Living with your head in a hole is a step_down_, not up!"

Tails glared. "Insults aside, shall we get started today? While I have done a full physical exam, I'll need to see you in action to properly gauge your training. We'll start with running and sprinting!"

He walked off, beckoning for the two women to follow. Rouge skipped forward, as if she was looking forward to what was to come, while Amy followed with twin feelings of reluctance and excitement swirling in her breast. On one hand, _it_ was finally starting. On the other, it was finally _starting!_

They all made their way to the running track, and as they entered Tails motioned for Amy to climb into the large ring that was built into the floor. Meanwhile, he and Rouge climbed onto a raised platform that overlooked the circular track.

Amy was standing on the inside, plastering herself to the inside wall, when Tails waved at her and called out, "I'm turning it on!" He pressed a large button, and the spire that was in the center of the ring started to hum, and emit a purplish-green light.

And then, with no transition whatsoever, Amy was no longer leaning against the wall. She was lying on the floor.

It was the oddest sensation. It was if someone has stopped time and moved her from a standing position to a horizontal one. Her insides, which she had unconsciously tensed up in preparation for the switch, moved all at once, making her feel slightly queasy. She slowly got to her feet, and looked around. Tails and Rouge, along with the platform the were standing on, were all tilted ninety degrees from her point of view. It was very strange to see someone defy the laws of gravity.

_No, wait a sec._I'm_ the one defying gravity right now. No, that's not true. I'm still bound by gravity; it's just a different gravity than the one they are being bound by. What a strange feeling; it's like I'm in a different world..._

"Amy," Tails called out, "are you alright?"

"Yes," Amy said, weakly, still uneasy about the sudden transition. "Yes, I'm fine. Let's get started."

Tails frowned, uncertain, but didn't press the matter. "Alright, then. I assume that you know your own limits well enough from your frequent runs around the city?"

"Yeah. I haven't been pushing them very much, but I know where they are."

"Good. I need you to run at a speed that you could comfortably maintain without strain for at least an hour."

Amy nodded, and then started off. While she could only maintain her max speed for only about a half hour, she could run at about half that speed, fifty mph, for a long, long time. Just like Sonic, she was banned from entering most foot races, something she was actually quite proud about.

Tails kept her at that speed for about fifteen minutes, and then asked her to stop. Meanwhile, Rouge was starting look bored, tapping her foot and crossing her arms.

As Tails kept his eyes on the controls, reading numbers and marking things down in the pad he held in his hands, Rouge looked increasingly cross. Finally, she stepped forward.

"This is sooooo_boring_! Can't you make it more lethal!?"

Amy glared up (Or was it down? She couldn't really tell) at the bat. "Hey! Do you want me to be hurt or something?"

Rouge let her eyes wander. "I'm bored. I need you to be entertaining." She poked Tails, making him edge away as he tried to focus on his calculations. "C'mon, can't you put some traps in there? Like blades and spikes and explosions?"

Tails grunted as she poked him a second time, and turned to her, irritated. "Not yet. Those kind of things will come later, in a different room."

"_How_ much later?"

"If you wish, we can go there after all these tests are done."

Rouge danced in glee, but Amy wasn't about to let that pass by. "Don't modify my training for her perverse glee!"

"Don't worry, it changes little."

"That's not what I'm worrying about!"

Rouge rested her arms on the railing and winked down (Left? Right?) at Amy. "Stop whining, dear. Your fate is inescapable. You should be thanking me; now you get to deal with it sooner, and have the bor- I mean, easy stuff all to yourself later."

Amy glared, but just like Tails said, it probably changed little. It just bugged her that Rouge seemed to be treating this like some sort of amusement. She'd probably laugh every time Amy fell in that room with the electrified water.

Tails put his pad down and look at Amy. "All right, I need you to sprint as fast as you can for as long as you can, Amy. How long do you think that will be?"

"If I press myself," Amy said as she began stretching, "I can probably go a little faster than a hundred mph for a ten, fifteen minutes."

"GOD," Rouge said loudly to herself, "I'm SO BORED."

"Shut it," Amy said, gritting her teeth. Rouge just sighed and started peering at the control panel in a way that made Tails profoundly nervous.

"If you touch anything," he said worriedly, "I'll... have to do... something."

Rouge laughed, and started putting her hands over everything, without actually pressing a button.

_At least she's amusing herself. Jeez, she's like a small child!_

"Amy," Tails said as he attempted to put his body between the console and Rouge with little success, "start running, please."

Amy complied, gently accelerating and breathing as deeply and evenly as possible. She did this instinctively, but Tails had once explained to her that it was a method of saturating the blood stream with oxygen before it became more difficult to breath at higher speeds. It was like holding your breath, only it went past holding air in your lungs. At the speeds Amy ran at she didn't run into any problems, but Sonic couldn't breathe when he was at top speed; 'pre-saturation' helped him keep running for a longer period of time. He'd be a wonderful diver, Tails often said, if his hydrophobia didn't keep him from learning to swim.

She took a minute to get to her full speed, and then began to push herself beyond it. 'Pushing herself', however, wasn't as simple as it sounded. If she was a car, it would be far different from reaching max speed, and then hitting the boosters. It was more like lighting the engine on fire, if such a thing could help a car reach greater speeds. She had spoken to Sonic about it once before; they had both agreed that there was a sort of 'switch' inside them that, once pressed, put their bodies into 'overdrive' (as Sonic fondly called it) and made them work much harder than normal, at the expense of hurting her body. It was a painful process, and one she had only used once before, in an attempt to escape from Metal Sonic.

Using it now hadn't been a simple decision. That one time she had spoken to Sonic about it, he had commented on how it was, for him, something he used all the time. When she had asked why, he had said it was because he had practiced with it, pushing his body to its limits and then breaking those limits. He had never elaborated, but if Sonic was anything like Amy it had to have been an extremely painful process, and definitely a great contributor to his current success as the 'Fastest Thing Alive'.

She wanted to catch up to Sonic, so she would have to get used to this ability. It was as simple as that. That didn't stopped her from worrying about how much it would hurt, of course. Being naturally tough, she wasn't used to pain. In any case, she had decided to push her body and become stronger; now was the time to step up to the plate and take a swing.

She had 'flicked the switch', now, and she could feel her body heating up. An ache spread throughout her body, and not just her muscles were affected. Her bones felt strained, like they were being bent under a great force, and it was if her blood was beginning to boil. Even the roots of hair were in pain.

But she continued running, and things began to blur as she went faster than she ever had before. She pushed further, determined to go farther and farther. Her feet moved at a speed that seemed impossible, so fast that it was no longer possible to separate the movement of one foot from the other. She was just _running_, her legs moving in a pattern that was instilled into her very genes. It became harder to breathe, and despite the pain, Amy smiled; never before had that happened.

And then, her heart stopped.

At least, that was what it felt like. Where before her pulse had been going through her body like hammer striking iron, everything was still. Strangely, it didn't hurt; she knew that heart attacks were supposed to hurt, and this did not. Somehow, she knew her blood was still moving through her veins, but it was moving at a steady pace that had nothing to do with a pulse, or her heart. Instinct told her nothing, but a different part of her, something more primal than instinct, even, told her that her heart was no longer moving because something _better_ had taken over.

Her reverie was broken by Tails' frantic yells, and she skidded to a stop. The 'overdrive' came to a halt, her body slowed down, and her heart resumed control. Oddly enough, she felt herself on the verge of panic; using her heart seemed inefficient and wasteful, and she found herself wishing she could go back.

"Amy, Amy, are you all- ahh!" Tails had, in his haste, jumped down into the ring while the gravity was still modified, and he ended up slamming into the wall/floor awkwardly. He got back to his feet as quickly as possible and came rushing over to Amy. Rouge, learning from his fall, jumped and managed to gracefully land on her feet.

Tails grabbed Amy by the shoulders and almost began shaking her in his worry. "Are you all right, Amy? The readings said your heart stopped!"

"It did," Amy said in a daze, "but I was fine. Something better took over."

"Something better?" Tails seemed mystified by her response. "How is that possible? You have the exact same organs that I do. You don't have anything capable of taking over like that."

"I don't know how to explain it," Amy said, strength returning to her body and her words as she slowly recovered from the shock. "It was like, instead of my heart contracting to move my blood, the blood was just moving on its own."

"On it's own?" Tails scratched his head, and then widened his eyes. "I, I may have an idea about what happened. I assume that you were trying to go beyond your normal limits using that trick that Sonic calls 'overdrive,' right?"

"Yeah," Amy said in surprise. "How'd you know?"

"Well, I can't think of anything else that could suddenly double your max speed."

"Double?" Amy blinked her eyes. "You mean, I was going at almost two hundred miles per hour?"

Rouge stepped forward. "Right at the end for about a second, yeah. In fact, it was right after we got the reading that your heart had stopped."

"Anyway," Tails said impatiently, "Sonic once tried to describe this 'overdrive' by saying, 'Everything just works perfectly by itself.' He could have possibly been referring to his blood moving on its own."

"That's..." Amy said, feeling a thread of annoyance enter into her heart, "that's just like him, to phrase something so amazing in such a stupid way."

"Yeah, well," Tails said, looking defensive, "No one's ever claimed he has a way with words. His heroics are solely centered in the doing, not the telling."

"Unlike you," Rouge said with a smile. "You've been talking circles around government inspectors for years now."

"I'm as patriotic as anyone else," Tails said loftily, switching into a different mode. "Why would I try and trick the people who give me money? Are you calling me a deceitful person?"

"See, see!" Rouge was pointing at the fox and trying to hold in her laughter. "Listen to that! He denied nothing, admitted nothing, brought attention to his services to the nation, brought up an argument against him doing such a thing, and then turned it into an assault on his honor in two sentences. He's good!"

Amy sighed. "Hey, weren't you guys worried about me having a heart attack just a few seconds ago?"

Rouge waved away Amy's complaint. "You seem fine. I say we restart the exercises!"

"Wait just a second," Tails said, climbing out the ring – this time carefully aware of the gravity differences. "I need to check something. Entertain each other for a minute." He walked off and Amy heard the door open and close, leaving her with an off-duty government agent who's thirst for entertainment had been, for the moment, temporarily sated.

"So," Rouge whispered to Amy despite that fact that Tails had walked out the door already, "Tell me what happened!"

Amy crossed her arms, thinking deeply. "Well, are you familiar with what Sonic calls, 'overdrive'?"

"Yeah, I've read a government file about it once. It's just pushing your body really hard, but it's a built in feature for your guys, right?"

"Pretty much, but I'd say the biggest difference is that it puts the strain on your whole body. Everything hurts, not just the muscles you're using. Anyway, I was trying that – for the second time in my life, I might add – when suddenly my heart stopped beating."

"Really!" Rouge said conspiratorially, in a tone that made Amy think of gossiping housewives. "Did it hurt?"

"No, it didn't. In fact, where before my blood had been hurting, it suddenly stopped, so I felt _better_." Amy thought about it for a second. "The best way I can sum it up is that my heart was no longer up to the task, so something better took control."

"What do you think this 'something better' is?"

"No idea, but I bet Tails does from the way he's acting."

"You're right," Rouge said in a strange voice, and suddenly the conversation turned. "I'm worried about him, Amy. He's been dodging criticism for years, but his experiments are getting wilder and wilder. He's been folding to the repeated demands for weapons that would make the standing army actually useful against Eggman, and those robotic soldiers he's been planning up have got a lot of the nastier people in the government interested."

This was news to Amy. She had heard about the soldiers, but she had no idea which people in the government were interested in what. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that he's getting involved in a bad crowd, and making worse enemies, just to keep his funding going. While his success has kept him going so far, most of his inventions have, at best, been defensive in nature, and that doesn't satisfy most people. You can't blame them; with the kind of resources Eggman has at his disposal, a war of attrition is exactly what he wants."

"What are they complaining about? Sonic's been doing fine so far."

Rouge shook her head. "There are a couple of reasons why the government doesn't like that. First of all, while the Elem officials generally have a deep appreciation of Sonic's efforts, other countries don't, and Elem is far from having a majority control over this alliance.

"Second of all, a good portion of Sonic's success has relied on Eggman's personality. Eggman isn't interested in destruction; he wants to conquer us as unharmed as possible. In addition, while his obsessive nature is a great contributor to his success as a scientist, it doesn't make him a great general; he focuses on Sonic way too much. If he suddenly decided to launch a large scale assault against the alliance, Sonic would be hard pressed to stop it by himself. The members of this alliance want a way to protect their people that doesn't rely on a single person who, while far more capable of being everywhere than most people, is still mortal.

"Finally, you have the weapon merchants, or 'merchants of death,' as they are fondly called. Tails' inventions haven't been profiting them at all; in fact, even though we're in the middle of the biggest war this planet has ever seen, they're barely making any money. But if Tails suddenly starts making weapons and releasing the plans to those manufacturers, their profit will skyrocket, and they'll do _anything_ to get that to happen.

"What worries me is that he's mixing with some of them, and giving the rest the cold shoulder. I supposed he's just trying to minimize the damage his weapons cause, but it's a very, _very_ dangerous game he's playing. The weapon merchants he's not favoring will want to take control of him, and the one's he does will protect their 'asset' with all their strength – meaning that, in a worse case scenario, he could find himself in the middle of an urban war."

By the time Rouge had finished, Amy was clenching her fists together. "I see. I understand your worries. But what is he supposed to do? What would be the best thing for him to do?"

Rouge shrugged. "I'm not really sure. He's kinda screwed any way he goes, but the way he's going now is probably one of the worst ways he be doing it."

Amy slammed her fist into the wall, putting a dent there and causing Rouge to squeak in surprise. "Don't screw with me, Rouge! You wouldn't have brought it up if you didn't have a better idea of what to do! You may think it's 'entertaining' to watch me squirm as I try to come up with an answer, but I take Tails safety _very_ seriously!"

Rouge was starting to sweat. "Um, well, you... you're right. I do have an idea of what to do, but I don't think you'll like it."

Amy narrowed her eyes. "Explain."

"Well, there are a couple of solutions. First of all, he could give the weapons to everybody. That's still a nasty idea, as the war with Eggman isn't the _only _conflict right now, just the biggest one. There's several small countries that, if the weapons were sold to them, would use them to wipe their rivals off the face of the planet. But, it _is_better than getting himself involved in a fight between weapon merchants."

"And? What else have you thought of?"

"Well," Rouge said in a strained voice, "there are several other choices, but they all hurt somebody. He could not give them to anybody, but at best that'll put all the pressure on Tails, and at worst make him the target of a concerted kidnapping effort. He could make sure that everything he puts out is under close government scrutiny, but that won't last for long."

Amy kept staring. "There's something you're holding back."

"There's one other way, but it's the one I knew you wouldn't want to hear."

"Spill it."

Rouge looked at Amy crossly. "Fine, have it your way. Just don't get angry at me for suggesting it."

Amy smiled a little. "I will have it my way, when it comes to Tails."

"Hmph. Well, to sum it up, it basically calls for Tails to be in charge of all the weapons himself."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, the main problem lies with the fact that, once the weapons leave Tails' hands, they'll be used by others without his supervision. So, the solution is to never let them leave his hands."

"But, I thought you said that if he didn't use the weapons, that wouldn't solve anything because people would still be asking for them, stronger than ever."

"That's true, but much of those people are simply worried about their safety. The weapon merchants are a remarkably small faction, but they tend to incite other countries into agreeing with them. So the solution lies in providing them their safety, but keeping the weapon merchants out of it."

Amy suddenly realized what Rouge meant. "You mean Tails should use the weapons himself, form his own standing army?"

"Exactly. After all, his robotic soldiers are what have really gotten everybody interested – and he's perfectly capable of controlling those by himself."

"But that's terrible! You're asking Tails to make his own mercenary army, and to fight against Eggman all by himself!"

"Certainly, it'll be stressful, but thankfully Eggman doesn't use living people in his army – it's entirely robotic. It's the only solution I can see that does the least damage."

"There are a host of problems with that! First of all, challenging Eggman's robot army with another robot army is just asking for Tails to forget the reason he's fighting. When it comes to challenging his intellect against Robotnik's, Tails almost always gets as obsessed as Robotnik himself. And as much as I hate to admit it, Tails has a tendency to come short in those encounters."

"He wouldn't be taking the fight to Eggman – remember, Sonic's perfectly capable to doing that by himself. No, all he'd have to do would have a few platoons spread out to protect the countries in case Eggman decides to invade."

Amy crossed her arms. "You know, it's entirely possible that that very act could incite Eggman to invade."

"True, but can you really say he won't do it anyway, sooner or later? Better to have it happen on our terms than his, right?"

"You sound just like those war mongers."

"That's because they're not stupid. They know how to use proper arguments, and it's not like they don't have a point."

Amy opened her mouth to retort, but the door opening cut her off. Tails walked onto the control platform, wearing a very strange expression.

"Well," he said, "I've figured out what happened to you Amy. Kind of."

What do you mean, 'kind of''," Amy said crossly. "This is my body we're talking about! Be more exact!"

"To put it simply, I've figured out _how_ you did what you did, but I don't know for certain exactly _what_ you did."

Rouge looked quizzical "How is that possible? Isn't it usually the other way around?"

"Let me explain. I checked my more advanced sensors, and just as I expected, Chaos energy was released in this room in small amounts."

"Chaos Energy!?" Amy took a step back. "Are you saying that's what caused... whatever happened?"

"Yes. That's why I can't say exactly what happened – since Chaos energy can do anything, I'd need to more accurately test what happened. The simplest answer is that you used Chaos Energy to subconsciously move your blood around your body without the use of your heart, which would be much simpler and easier on your body. However, it would be just as feasible for you to have been, for example, teleporting nutrients where they were needed, thereby bypassing not just your heart, but your blood as well."

"But that's impossible," Amy exclaimed. "I can't manipulate Chaos Energy, only Shadow can! We'll, Sonic too, but only with a Chaos Emerald."

"That's true, but Shadow's ability could simply be a feature that hedgehogs could generally be capable of, brought to the forefront and enhanced via genetic manipulation. The energy you were using is a tiny fraction of the energy Shadow usually uses. In addition, judging from what he said, Sonic has experienced the same thing. I didn't have anything capable of detecting Chaos Energy back when I tested him here, so it's entirely possible that he's been using it this entire time. Finally, I happen to have a Chaos Emerald stored here in this facility – it's proximity could be allowing, or possibly encouraging, you to use Chaos Energy."

Amy didn't know what to think. "What does this mean, then?"

"It means-"

"More tests!" Rouge interrupted Tails dramatically

"Exactly," Tails said, and Amy winced. "But those will come later. For now, we'll continue with what I was planning to do today."

"I was afraid of that," Amy said tiredly. Her whole body ached.

Tails was heading back to the console when he turned around suddenly. "That reminds me. Don't use that ability again, Amy, at least for now. It appears that something like that will turn out to be vital, but I'm worried about the effect it has on your body. Remember that Sonic is in far better shape than you are – not that you're out of shape, of course," he said nervously as Amy turned her glare on him, "it's all relative. You're not in the least bit fat."

"What exactly did you mean by that? That was highly suspicious!" Amy's glare increased.

"No, no, not at all! Please, I wasn't trying to imply anything!" Tails was practically begging.

Amy glared for a moment longer, and then sighed as she began stretching. As she was doing this she stared at Rouge, who wasn't making any movement to leave the ring. "You need to leave if I'm going to get started."

Rouge grinned, and pulled out what looked like a knife attached to a long chain. Jumping, she landed on the spire in the center of the ring, and sat down casually. "I thought I'd give you a little 'incentive'."

As Rouge began twirling the long piece of metal, Amy groaned. Her stay here at Tails' lab was looking to be very, _very _long indeed.


	8. Chapter 8

Hello my faithful readers!

Or not so faithful. It's okay. I understand. I update infrequently.

I have a good excuse this time, though, as good as any excuse can be. I just recently went to college! Wai! In any case, I'm sure you can imagine how that has interfered. But now things should go much better (I hope).

Here is Chapter 8. It's a little shorter than the others, but I got inspired and stuck in an event that I hadn't been planning. I hope you enjoy!

This has been remade to get rid of excess angst. Still some there, just not as much. Hope it reads better.

* * *

It had been two weeks since the day of those tests, since the day her training had started. Amy would like to think that she was completely satisfied with her progress, and that Tails' regimen was perfect and without flaw, as he would have her believe. She couldn't, though. Not because she necessarily disagreed, but rather because she couldn't think at all.

Every waking moment had been taken up with either training, preparing to train, or recovering from training. Tails' regimen was one that relied upon 'complete immersion'; in other words, she was almost always in danger. She had learned to relish her time on the running track, as that was the only harmless course Tails put her on. It was exhausting, as Tails had been repeatedly forcing her above and beyond her limits (without using the 'overdrive') but it was safe. The fact that Rogue only complained about boredom when Amy was on the running track was proof enough of that.

At the moment, Amy was trying to stay in bed as long as possible. Although she certainly was tired, this stemmed more from the fact that the day would start once she got up rather than any need for more rest. Tails kept track of how long she took getting ready, and subtracted 'points' if she fell short of his expectations. What these points were for, Tails hadn't mentioned, but she wasn't going to just let them be taken from her; for all she knew, they could be redeemed for vacation time. Or candy; she'd like something sweet. The food she had been subsisting on was bland fare – exceedingly healthy but lacking much of a taste. For now, Tails wasn't letting her choose her own meals.

As she lay in her bed, her blanket halfway trailing onto the floor, she tried to calm herself in preparation for the day ahead. Tails had mentioned the night before, in a casual offhand tone, that today was going to be the first day of her 'combat training'. She had been too tired to mutter anything other than, 'that's nice', but the knowledge had stuck in her head, and she was fretting about exactly what that 'combat' bit meant.

Her pensive attempt to hold back the approaching day was interrupted as a she felt a sharp poke in her side. Rolling over and opening her eyes, she saw a robot, its long legs and orb-shaped body resembling a spider, try to poke her once again. Although she still felt very sluggish, she was able to grab the offending appendage before it could irritate her once more, and with a slight shove sent the robot silently tumbling backwards into a heap of metallic limbs.

As Amy watched it try, slowly and methodically, to stand once again, she couldn't help but giggle. Its strangely cute attempts, each one accompanied by a soft mechanical whirr as it bent its legs, and a pneumatic hiss as it fell down again, made her feel slightly guilty about pushing it over. Grumbling, she stretched out her hand, picking the robot's main body up.

Despite its light weight, Amy found herself struggling to hold on to it as it began to flail its legs. All of a sudden, though, it froze out and spread its legs, and Amy took the opportunity to drop it. It stumbled a bit, but managed to stay upright. Giving Amy what she supposed was a spidery imitation of a bow, it retreated out of her room.

She considered crawling back under the blanket, but Tails had never sent in a robot to wake her up – it had always been her responsibility to wake up on time. If this 'combat training' was important enough that he couldn't let her sleep in, well, she didn't want to find out to what lengths he would go to to ensure she woke up. Muscles stiff and joints aching, she threw back the covers and stood up.

Immediately, a small camera on the ceiling blinked open its lens and confirmed that Amy had indeed gotten up. A digital clock positioned closely to the camera lit up with a beep, and began counting the seconds as the camera returned to inactivity once more.

This was the beginning of Amy's morning trial. Tails believed that being able to wake up quickly and efficiently was important, and had thus timed Amy's mornings. She had to conduct all her morning preparations within five minutes, and put on her clothes in under one. So far, out of the two weeks she had been doing this, she had met Tails' expectations once, and that had been yesterday.

Grabbing the change of clothes she had set out the day before (as per Tails' instructions, once again an exercise outfit), Amy quickly strode behind the changing screen. It took her about thirty seconds to change her clothes, as they simply needed to be pulled on, but the hard part would come next. She went to the sink and splashed her face with water in order to wake herself up, and then dried it with a towel. Splashing some water into her hair, she toweled it briefly, and then brushed it out before using a hair dryer to get rid of the last remnants of moisture. Finally, she slid her red-blue high-tech hair band on, and sprinted out the door.

"Morning Trial passed successfully," a robotic voice called out, "with a time of 4:47."

Amy smiled despite herself, and began striding toward the elevator. Speedy mornings weren't exactly what she had been thinking of when Tails had proposed training her, but every step here was a step forward. She'd worry about exactly where she was going later.

The elevator brought her swiftly to B5, and she headed towards the medical exam room like she had every other day in this place. Tails was there, like he was every day, smiling like a toddler after finding his favorite toy.

_I shouldn't have thought of that example. _"Good morning, Tails," Amy called out, keeping her uncertainty out of her voice.

"Good morning!" Tails said in a voice that was exceedingly cheerful, even more so than usual. "Today your _real _training starts!"

Amy sighed. "So what have I been doing this whole time, then?"

"Exercises, really."

"Is there a difference?"

"Exercises are monotonous, designed to help the body. Training is adaptive, designed not only for the body, but the mind as well. From now on you'll be learning stuff!"

"What does that mean?" Amy asked with a grimace. "Will I have to sit in classrooms now, copying down notes as some robot grates on about the history of the extinct Horned Owl, or something?" She had been homeschooling for quite a while now, and going back to the robot-tutored classroom model of the standard public school was not something she would look forward to.

"No, I don't mean that kind of learning. I'm talking about the kind of learning that happens when you almost get stabbed and barely dodge away. Or just getting stabbed, period."

_That's..._so _much better. Maybe I should rethink my opinion of public education._

Tails announced Amy would be starting with some warm-up exercises with the basics: a short run, a dash through the obstacle course, and and brief stint in the electric pole room. Of course, 'short', 'dash', and 'brief' were extremely subjective, especially from Tails point of view. It took about an hour for Amy to finish the warm-up exercises, and when she had she was sporting a few cuts and a nasty bruise on her abdomen.

Tails then dragged her to a room she hadn't been in before, which turned out to be a simple dojo. A square room about twenty feet wide and long, it had padded floors and a mirror covering one wall, but other than that was completely plain.

Amy continued to look around, trying to find a hint of some sort of technological gizmo that would try to kill her. You could never let your guard down here. "Is this where the 'combat training' will be held?"

"Yes," Tails said as he walked up to the mirror. As he pressed a cleverly disguised button that Amy had missed, the mirrored wall rose up, revealing one of the most impressive accumulations of weaponry she had ever seen. They were all melee weapons – swords, axes, spears, and a bunch of other exotic things she couldn't recognize – but the technology used to construct them varied from an ancient-looking axe that had Polar Bear runes all over it, to what looked like an honest-to-god light saber.

Turning back to Amy, he stood straight, clearly proud of his collection. "From now on, you will train in the use of a particular weapon. Make your choice!"

Hesitantly walking forward, Amy looked around. She already knew what weapon she would pick – she had always used, and had no intention of ever not using, hammers – but there were several versions of that said weapon. There was an old one covered in runes and spike, and shiny new one made out of some funky alloy. There was small one covered with holes, and another that looked like it could be inflated, of all things. The one she finally decided on, however, was monstrous, made out of some dark, demonic metal. When she held it in her hands, she found that even her own unusual strength was barely sufficient to lift it.

Tails nodded briefly before stepping forward and taking it away form her. "The government has given me permission to outfit you with some of my most high-clearance inventions, so I'll attach a 'compactor' to this hammer for you. It'll phase most of the weapon into an alternate dimension, so all you have to carry around is the handle – press a button and it'll pop out, ready to use."

"Ah, thanks, I guess," Amy said, slightly put off. _I sort of wanted to use it right now..._

"Anyway," Tails said, throwing her a smaller padded hammer that had been sitting in a corner of the collection, "use this for now. Don't want you to hurt me in a sparring accident, right?"

"Huh?" Amy caught the hammer, and then opened her eyes wide as Tails pulled out a long thin blade – dulled, of course. "Are we going to fight? And you're going to fight my hammer with that little thing?"

Tails smiled as he held his weapon out in front of him and stood in a sword-fighter's stance. "This is called a rapier, and I happen to be quite skilled with it. Which is lucky, because I'll be able to help you with the greatest weakness of your hammer."

Amy twirled her hammer in one hand, a maneuver almost no other creature could handle (and one she had practiced quite a bit). "We'll see about this 'greatest weakness'!" Charging forward, she-

Stopped.

Tails had his puny blade against her throat. She hadn't even seen him move it. She had frozen her movement just in time, avoiding damage to her throat, but her pride had definitely been injured – again.

"This," Tails said as he pulled back, "is what I meant by the hammer's greatest weakness. Despite the fact that you are far stronger than most people, hammers are still far from maneuverable. Rushing into a situation, while sometimes a good tactic, is very bad against an opponent like me."

"So what do you suggest, oh great master?" Amy's voice was acidic, despite knowing that Tails was doing this for her sake.

"You need to be a bit more cautious," Tails said, ignoring her tone. "Only charge ahead when you know how the enemy will react. Use the heft of your hammer to your advantage – it's not only a weapon, but a shield as well. The counter to a jab from a weapon like mine is to parry it – but a jab from a hammer, while not having as much force as a swing, cannot possibly be parried. And with your strength, it's hard to block, too. Aiming for the most damaging strikes all the time is folly, if they never hit. Instead, settle for an average, or even weak, strike. Even if you clip someone, Amy, you're still likely to send them flying."

Amy glared, absorbing what Tails had just said. "Fine. Let's test it out!"

She stepped forward again, and sent her hammer straight out, pushing it forward like some sort of bloated spear thrust. It wasn't something she was used to, but its usefulness was immediately apparent to her – her hammer was acting as both a offensive weapon and a defensive shield, just like Tails had said.

In response, Tails dodged out of the way, spinning around the hammer before heading straight for her. But while she may not have been used to her enemies interrupting her initial strike, her attacks were dodged all the time, and she had a ready defense. Stepping backward, she used her momentum to make a back-handed swing, forcing Tails to retreat. They both squared off against each other once more, trying to find a hint of what the other would do next.

_That jab was a good idea, but he'll be prepared for it – or rather, he'll _act_ on that preparation this time. I'm pretty sure he let that work, just to show me how effective it was. I think he could have moved faster than my swing if he had wanted to, too, and ended this there and then. So he's going easy on me... which I can use to my advantage!_

Suddenly and without warning, Amy leapt into the air towards Tails, bringing her hammer down towards her opponent. Tails stepped backward, but seemed unsure of what to do. Amy smiled fiercely.

_The best thing to do against an opponent who's flying through the air like this would be to use their momentum against them, but you can't do that – I'd be hurt too badly! What are you going to do now?_

Tails seemed to come to an answer as Amy neared him, and stepped less than a foot to the right. As she came down, Amy adjusted her hammer's path so that it would go straight for him. She had expected him to try and take advantage of the moment she hit the ground, where it would be difficult to move her hammer the way she wanted it to, and the position he was in at the moment was perfect for that – which was why she could predict what he would do.

To her surprise, though, Tails rolled _underneath _her at the last moment, and her hammer swing hit empty air. Almost casually, Tails placed his rapier at her throat, once again.

"You're too quick to give up the advantage of distance," Tails lectured. "Your hammer is relatively useless at close range, at least at your level of skill, so stop advancing into close range with such suicidal glee. Also, while I commend you on realizing that I couldn't do something like impale you, it doesn't help you get any better if you focus on such weaknesses."

"Damn it!" Amy slammed her hammer end first into the ground, resisting the urge to punch Tails in the face. "How come everyone keeps making me look like some sort of buffoon when I try and attack them!? Am I really that bad?"

Tails looked uncertain of what do for a second, biting his lip. "Well, yes, you are. To be honest, I expected you to be more humble. You've fought a few robots here and there, Amy – robots that are built to be cannon fodder, and little else. That doesn't really take any skill. Fighting me, or god forbid someone like Metal Sonic, _does_ take skill, and you haven't acquired any, _yet_. Be patient, pay attention, and I _promise_ you, you'll get better!"

Amy glowered. "Really?"

Tails nodded. "Really, you will."

Smiling, Amy opened her arms, and Tails stepped forward to hug her back.

"Thank you, Tails," Amy said, before grinning maliciously, "for falling_into my trap!_" Tails nearly squealed as Amy's embrace turned into a bear hug, and Amy began to laugh as she gripped tighter.

"Amy," Tails barely squeezed out, "what are you doing!? Didn't I... tell you? Focusing on such weaknesses-"

"I don't care," Amy cackled, "I don't care about that right now! I just want my revenge! Revenge for that robot you made, revenge for revealing my bust size to the government, revenge for putting me through this hell-hole!"

"It's... for your own... good!" Tails was gasping for air – while Amy had no intent of hurting him permanently, she was squeezing him hard enough to make it difficult for him to breathe.

"I don't give a damn!" There was a slight manic gleam to in Amy's eyes. "Getting better can wait! I want immediate satisfaction!"

"That's not very... heroic, Amy!"

"To hell with heroism! When I catch up to Sonic, I'm gonna beat him up and steal his job! I'll become the savior of the world, and I'll make Sonic my personal slave, to use for whatever I want!" Amy laughed and drooled a bit, losing focus on Tails as she descended into some deeply hidden personal fantasy.

"Well then," Tails said as he maneuvered a hand between himself and Amy, "I'll... have to play dirty too."

Amy snapped back to attention. "What are you talking about."

"Speaking of... bust size..."

Amy glared. "You wouldn't dare. I'll _kill _you!"

"If I'm going to... die, I'd rather die... happy."

Amy began to squeeze harder, but then squeaked. "Get your hands _off_me, you _pervert!_" Acting on instinct, she released Tails and grabbed her hammer. "I don't _believe _this, Tails, you_ groped _me! How _could_ you!?

"With difficulty," Tails replied cheekily. "For a moment there, I didn't think there would be anything for me to grab!"

Screaming in blind rage, Amy charged towards Tails, who retreated out the door. Trailing behind him, she barely managed to see him disappear into another doorway. Following him, she found herself in another dojo room, with the fox nowhere to be found.

Tails voice echoed out of the walls. "Good thing I prepared for just such an eventuality, although I never imagined the source of your anger would be molestation."

"Come out, you perverted beast! I'm going to skin you alive and turn you into a _muffler!_"

"Come now, Amy, you don't really mean that."

Amy paused. "You're right. I've never want to wear anything made out of you. Since there's no point in making you into clothing, I'll just bury your fur with the rest of you."

Tails stayed silent.

Amy gripped her hammer tightly. "I said come out! I have to deliver just punishment!"

"You're one to talk. You said you were going to turn Sonic into your personal slave!"

Amy smiled again. "Yes, with emphasis on the 'personal'. You have a problem with that?"

"Rather than me, I think Sonic will."

"His opinion doesn't matter. He's going to be my slave, remember?"

Tails sighed. "I sincerely hope you're joking."

"Well, maybe not a slave. But I haven't forgiven him for all those nasty things he said, and he's going to pay me back in full! In whatever way I want him to!"

"Well, your future plans for Sonic aside, I'm still going to train you." Having said this, the glass wall rose up quickly, revealing Tails sitting inside what seemed like some sort of powered armor. The only visible part of Tails was his head, which was protected by a plastic covering. The rest was inserted into the armor, which resembled a metallic bear.

"Drop the hammer, if you would. We'll be practicing your skills without weapons now." Tails moved forward and entered a fighting pose, very different from the one he had used with his rapier. That one had been light on the feet, placing the weapon between him and his opponent, but this one was well grounded – his 'feet' were planted on the mat, and his 'hands' were in a general stance that seemed capable of switching between offense and defense quite quickly.

While she was hesitant to give up an advantage, she _would_ feel a lot more satisfaction in ripping Tails' machines apart with her bare hands. Besides, her hammer would probably break if she tried to swing it with any force against Tails right now, encased in metal as he was. She tossed the weapon into a corner and, opening her hands wide, dashed forward to attack.

Tails met her charge, smashing his hands into hers and turning it into a contest of strength. Amy was surprised once again when she found herself evenly matched, but she had fought robots that had done the same thing, and they all shared the same weakness – they were big and heavy. Stepping between Tails' arms, preventing him from using his true strength, Amy yanked on a metallic leg with her foot. Predictably, Tails went crashing down to the floor, and before he could recover Amy had sent a fist through a joint in the right shoulder.

There was a burst of sound, and Tails was lifted into the air by a pair of rocket boosters. Cursing, Amy realized she was unable to continue her attack, but the damage had already been done: Tails' right arm was now hanging uselessly. She advanced, determined to ground the machine permanently and truly set in on her promise of ripping it apart.

"Well," Tails said shakily, his tone filled pain, "I guess I can learn from this too. You're obviously far better without a weapon than you are with one, and this mech is far from ready to deal with opponents of your caliber."

The rockets suddenly stopped, and Tails came tumbling down, landing messily. Amy rushed forward, her anger forgotten in her panic. Popping open the compartment Tails was laying in, unconscious, she was shocked to see blood everywhere. To her horror, she realized that when she had punched the armor, the crumpled metal had gone slicing into Tails' body. She couldn't see how much damage had been done, but she could tell it was serious.

She rushed outside in a blind panic,searching for the nearest wall-mounted comm unit. She found one, thankfully, and barely managed to get out a call for medical bots before heading straight back to Tails. She crouched down, her hands ready to rip the machine apart, but found herself unable to move. What if, in her attempt to free him, she only did more harm? What if, by _not_ freeing him, he bled to death?

She nearly crumpled herself when the med bots came through the door a minute later and took the problem out of her hands. Using laser cutters and mini explosives, they efficiently cut Tails out of the armor, letting Amy see that while his arm was badly torn up, it was far from lethal. Breathing a sigh of relief, she attempted to follow the med bots, but they prevented her from entering the room were they would operate on the fox – on her little brother, whom she had injured with her own hands.

Collapsing against the hallway and sliding down into a sitting position, Amy put her hands on her face and cried. After there were no more tears, she remained limp.

She didn't move for a long time.

* * *

The emergency room light finally switched from red to orange, indicating Tails was no longer in any danger, but Amy remained where she was. Until the light went green, Tails would be unconscious, recovering from the surgery. She'd only maker herself feel worse if she went in to look.

The light turned green. Amy didn't move.

Her rational part told her that she had to go in, to apologize, to get angry, to do _something_, but the rest of her was very firmly advocating apathy. She felt like she was in limbo right now, and that was fine by her.

The door opened, and Tails walked out slowly, his right shoulder bandaged tightly and his arm in a cast. He saw Amy sitting there, but didn't seem surprised. He went over to the wall opposite her and sat down as well. Amy twitched slightly, but couldn't bear to look, much less say anything.

They sat in silence for a while, until Tails finally spoke. "I'm sorry," he said, making Amy sit upright. "This is all my fault. I'm sorry."

"Bullshit!" Amy gripped her fist tightly, finding that anger had returned strength to her body. "Don't you dare day stuff like that! I'm the one who thoughtlessly punched you, used all of my strength against you! I may not have meant to hurt you, but I held nothing back, and I hurt you because of that! This is all _my_ fault!"

Tails shook his head. "This is my lab, my training regime, and it's my responsibility to make it safe." His left hand tightened, and Amy was surprised as Tails' tone filled with anger and self-hatred. "My lab, my regime. I told you, didn't I? I had planned a room in advance, in case you got angry. I had thought myself prepared to deal with your anger, but I never bothered to run complex simulations on what would happen when that robot and you clashed. I just compared reaction times, muscle tensions, and other meaningless data. I lost sight of reality. I failed not only you, as a trainer, but myself, as a scientist!"

Amy tried to think of something to say, but couldn't. This definitely wasn't Tails fault; she knew in the core of her soul that it was hers. But she knew that what Tails was saying was true to an extent, as well. "Tails..."

"I'm not good enough," Tails said, the words grinding out from a throat taut with tension, "not good enough of a warrior to face you. I'm a genius scientist, but I can't beat you. Yeah, maybe when you're using a hammer and I a rapier, but when it really comes down to it, when you really wanted to beat me, you won. I thought I was close to Sonic's equal, but I was sadly mistaken."

"Tails, that's not-"

"I'm calling in a favor," Tails said, interrupting her. "I'm going to get Knuckles to come down here and help you. To be honest, I'm not even sure I'll need to convince him; you two seem pretty close. In any case. I can help you develop your body faster than any one else can, but neither I nor any robot I can make can truly help you get better at fighting. It takes a real warrior to train another one, and I'm not a warrior. I'm a scientist." Tails looked up and gave her a fragile grin. "Ah, well. Who wants to be a warrior, anyway? Brains over brawn, any day!"

Amy smiled back, and crawled over to give him a gentle hug. Tails returned it, saying, "No more vengeful death grips?"

"No. Well, if you don't apologize for groping me, then maybe, but that's a definite impossibility, right?"

"Ah, of course, of course. I'm sorry for... groping you."

"What was with the hesitation?"

"Well, I'm not sure 'grope' is the proper word to describe what I did..."

"Oh?" Amy placed a hand on Tails' injured shoulder. "Why would you say that?"

"Ow, ow, no reason. Forget about it, ow, please."

"Good." Amy removed her hand, and held Tails as tightly as she could without hurting him.

"You know," Tails said softly, "I have some supplements that-"

"I have my pride."

"Pride in what- ow, ow ow, okay, okay, I give!"


	9. Chapter 9

Well.

Here is chapter 9, after much delay. I hope there are still be paying attention to this story, but I'm not going to expect much; I've taken far too long.

In any case, here it is. The next chapter is also written; I need to go over it one more time before I'll upload it. I'm also writing the chapter after that.

If you read it and like it, please review! I'd greatly appreciate it!

* * *

Amy leaned back into her seat, the only thing keeping her awake the reverberating sound of the helicopter blades whipping through the air. She hadn't slept well the night before, her guilt keeping her up till well after the sun had risen. Tails had let her sleep in till noon, but she'd only ended up getting about four hours of sleep. After she'd woken up he'd sent her through basic exercises, which had taken almost two hours, and then, after she'd changed into her jeans and t-shirt, they'd gotten on the helicopter to Angel Island. The helicopter, one of Tails' prototypes that was never put into mass production due to its exorbitant cost, spun its rotors at such speed that the sound produced was more of a sharp piercing whine than anything else, and it made its way through even the heavy acoustic earmuffs Tails had given her; it was giving her a headache.

Thankfully, the trip was nearing its end as the clock closed in on three o'clock. Their destination, a floating airbase positioned near Angel Island, would be where they abandoned the long-distance helicopter and took a slower moving but far more comfortable hoverpad to the island. Knuckles had banned not only any structures on the island (beyond the ones already built and the small base he'd let the alliance build on the edge), but also any aircraft more mobile than a rotor-powered plane. The Master Emerald's will was manifest in this, as could be seen by its tendency to roast any planes trying to land on the island. Well, 'roasting' was only one of the weapons it employed; along with electric storms, radiation bursts, and magnetic waves, Tails was convinced that he had seen a hybrid black/white hole spontaneously appear in the middle of one of Dr. Robotnik's fleets that had gotten too close once. What a hybrid black/white hole _was_, Tails wasn't so sure about, but he knew he wanted to see it again, and had been bugging Knuckles about it ever since. Knuckles had never been keen on Tails' scientific curiosity, although they maintained a polite friendship nonetheless.

The airbase they were touching down on was one of Tails' older inventions, and one of the ones that had put him 'on the political scene', so to speak. It was not only a mobile air strip, but a refueling station as well. The newer versions were completely self-sufficient, using solar power to fly and an organic self-replicating fuel source to refuel the vehicles that docked there; the only thing it needed was food for its staff, and the waste from that was used to feed the organic fuel. They were expensive, but with Tails' ingenuity it now cost only about three times as much to construct as a traditional grounded air base, instead of the original version's twelve.

The landing strip for airplanes, helicopters, and more exotic forms of transportation was automated by a robust AI, so Tails didn't have to wait more than a few minutes before it linked with his helicopter and guided it to a free pad. The airbase was fairly packed, and not just with the military positioned to help defend Angel Island; archaeologists had been flooding onto Angel Island for as long as its existence had ceased being legend, and groups of them kept vehicles at the ready for when they needed to leave the island. Knuckles was pretty harsh in the restrictions he had placed on them, but progress was steadily being made by the researchers nonetheless.

As soon as the helicopter touched down, Amy hopped out – a big mistake. The strength of the super-powered rotor pushed her face first into the concrete, and she was painfully trapped there for nearly a minute before the rotors had slowed down enough for her to get back up. Tails waited nearly a minute longer before getting out himself, and when he did he looked furious.

"Amy, you idiot! I told you to be careful when getting on and off this thing! Anyone other than you might have been injured!"

"Sorry," Amy mumbled, tenderly adjusting her nose. She didn't think it was broken, but it almost felt like it was. "I forgot. I'm kinda tired."

"Well, whatever. Let's go get on the hoverpad to the Island."

Amy followed the fox as he led her through the maze of aircraft that cluttered the airstrip towards a small building near one edge of the building – 'small' being relative to the huge airbase. From what Amy remembered from her last stop on one of these things (which had also been her first), they had both a cafeteria and a compact hotel.

The doors to the entrance slid open when they approached them, and the soldier positioned behind the desk, a weasel, saluted smartly when he recognized Tails. "Good day, sir! Will you be spending any time here, or will you be making use of a hoverpad immediately?"

"Sir?" Amy questioned.

"I'm an honorary corporal, or something," Tails said offhandedly. "I don't really remember. I'm more influential than most generals, really."

Amy ruffled Tails' head fur, making him scowl and the soldier gape. "Don't let it go to your head, little guy!"

Tails pointedly ignored her, turning to the soldier while he brushed his hair down. "We'll be using a hoverpad immediately, if you please."

The soldier nodded, and then brought forth a clipboard. "The next pad is in ten minutes. Please sign here, Mr. Prower, and...?"

Amy gave the grunt a look to kill. "Why doesn't anybody know who I am!?"

Tails smirked. "Don't worry about it. You have to save the world at least three times before anyone pays attention to you."

"But I have! Five times, actually!"

"Assisting Sonic doesn't count – at least, not to the public"

"Bah!" Amy grabbed the pen and scribbled down her name on the sheet. It was good paper, so it didn't rip, but Amy could see it shift with the force she was putting into it. "That ingrate! I help him save the world, and what do I get? Nothing!"

Tails patted her on the shoulder. "Well, from now on you won't be stuck as someone's 'sidekick' or 'helper'. I got tired of that long ago, so I kinda understand what you're going through."

After Amy finished signing her name, Tails picked up the pen and attempted the same. He found himself struggling with it, due to his injured arm (his right arm was the dominant one), which drew the attention of the solider. "Sir, if I may ask, how did you get that arm injured?"

Tails didn't look up from his struggle with the pen while answering. "Training accident. I was piloting a two-ton armored war-suit, and Ms. Rose here accidentally punched a hole into the shoulder."

The soldier gulped, and look at Amy with newfound respect in his eyes. "I... see, sir. That sounds like some... impressive training."

Amy smiled, resisting the urge to give Tails a hug. It would ruin her newly minted image as a bad-ass, after all.

Tails, his annoyance building, almost threw down the pen after he had finally finished signing. "All right. Which loading room are we using?"

"The executive one, sir. Would you like a guide?"

"No need. This is a type C construction, right?"

"Uh, yes, I think so, sir." The soldier was a little nervous about being quizzed about things usually handled by engineers.

"When you go to the bathroom, do you use hot air or a dehumidifier to dry your hands?"

"Uh, a dehumidifier, sir."

"Then it's a type C. I'll find my own way there."

Tails took off down a corridor, and Amy hurried to follow. He turned several times, and the corridors all looked the same, so Amy was thoroughly lost when they ended up in front of the executive pad room. 'Executive' had no bearing on the size or décor of the room, Amy discovered; it simply meant that there was a pad waiting there for important people. The only other occupant was a rather fat walrus, who Amy recognized as the formal head of intelligence of Miltsia, one of the smaller countries in the alliance. He was visiting Elem for some sort of conference, Amy had heard in the news, but she didn't know why he was heading to Angel Island, and the man didn't look ready to talk. In fact, he down right ignored them – which suited Amy just fine, really. She wasn't really interested in striking up a conversation with some stuffy politician.

A pair of soldiers turned up shortly after Tails and Amy had arrived, and swiped their keycards in a reader, opening the hoverpad bay doors. One of the soldiers led the way, and Amy and Tails followed him onto the hoverpad. The walrus followed slowly, sweating from the exertion of walking like only a fat man can, and tiredly waved at the soldier to start the lift as he sat down.

The trip was fairly short, thanks to how close the airbase was to Angel Island. Hoverpads weren't very fast, but since they had started out with a higher altitude than the island the soldier moved some of the downward lift to moving them forwards by rotating the main rotor that held them up. The hoverpad itself was built like a gondola, with plexiglass walls supported by a steel frame. If she had the energy, Amy probably would have found the view breathtaking. As it was, all she felt like doing was putting her head down and catching a few minutes of sleep; unfortunately, despite her efforts, she was unable to achieve anything of significance.

When they touched down at the small base that Knuckles had let the international community establish on Angel Island, the walrus hefted himself up and off the pad as quickly as his short legs would allow; apparently he had things to do. Amy followed Tails at a more sedate pace, looking around her as soldiers saluted the fox. The base was simplistic, made of concrete with sparse windows and generous fluorescent lighting. The carpet was rough, but unremarkable; it didn't have the stomach-clenching qualities that Tails' color scheme always seemed to have. The corridor twisted this was and that, blank except for the occasional door.

Something struck her as yet another pair of soldiers on duty saluted them. "Tails, why are all the soldiers here from the Elem military?"

"Because Elem was the only one to volunteer troops," Tails replied conversationally. "Everyone else thought that, since it was neutral territory, they had no reason to step up to the plate, but Elem considers the Master Emerald an international treasure. Even if Knuckles won't let anybody within a mile of the thing, they still have soldiers stationed here to prevent most idiots from troubling him."

Amy paused as she absorbed the info. "Hmm. Strange that Knuckles would let anyone at all on the island. He's not one to let others help him with his work."

"Yeah, well, a lot of the archaeologists that visit try to take a look at the Master Emerald despite Knuckles' ban, and the soldiers are here to protect them from Knuckles just as much as they are here to protect the Master Emerald from thieves. They're also here in case someone is stupid enough to try to do something idiotic like hire a band of mercenaries to steal it for them, which the Emerald might consider a threat and activate – and no one wants the Master Emerald to start blasting things. It _always_ goes overboard, even when its target is Angel Island itself."

Tails did a double take and gave Amy a suspicious glance. "Hey, aren't you supposed to come here monthly for meetings with Knuckles? How come you don't know any of this if you pass through the base all the time?"

Amy scratched the back of her head sheepishly. "Uh, I guess I never thought about this before. Always, uh, thinking of the impending meeting with Knuckles." _Can't tell him that Knuckles has a secret way of getting on the island that he let's me use! Can't break _another _vow of secrecy!_

Tails stared for a moment longer, and then shrugged. "Well, whatever. Let's get out of here before someone recognizes us and tries to get an interview or something."

The two made their way outside, and Amy turned around to look at the base from the outside. It was low, with only one floor, the top being where hoverpads arrived and departed from. There were a couple defensive turrets here and there, but nothing serious; Dr. Robotnik would overrun it in minutes if he tried to attack (assuming, of course, that he got past the Master Emerald first).

What was interesting was the shanty town that had grown up around it. The number of archaeologists who had flocked to the legend of the ancient Echidnan civilization had quickly grown beyond the meager limits of the base; while they would provide more food to sell to the researchers, Elem wasn't about to spend any money on constructing barracks. The archaeologists had had to fend for themselves, so shacks with a strange amount of class had begun to spring up. Lacking any sort of organized scholastic forum within which to determine their pecking order, the archaeologists had begun showing off their lifetime's findings as an alternate method of 'respectable' boasting. As a result, their abodes all sported a variety of strange artifacts, ranging from colorful Echidnian totems to exotic technological devices found in deep ruins.

Tails didn't even spare this place a second glance, though, so they quickly passed through it. They continued down a snaking path that led to the center of the island, and were stopped by guards twice before the only lines of defense left were the occasional cameras here and there. Well, the only lines of defense on the path, which was the only safe route to the Master Emerald; everywhere else was riddled with traps, courtesy of Knuckles.

After about half an hour (Knuckles had meant it quite literally when he asked that no one come within a mile) they finally approached the huge altar on which the Emerald rested. Predictably, Knuckles appeared in front of them very suddenly, but then relaxed when he saw who it was. "Ah," he said gruffly, "You're here. Follow me."

Tails frowned at his roughness, but Amy was familiar with the way Knuckles treated visitors, and took it in stride. The echidna led them to a small hut primitively hewn from granite a short distance away from the altar, and motioned for them to sit down on a stone bench before pulling up a log stool for himself. "I understand that you're here to ask me for a favor?"

Nodding, Tails folded his hands in front of him. "Yes. As I mentioned in my message, I've been training Amy, but found myself unsuitable to teach her anything about combat. I am a scientist primarily, after all, not a warrior."

Knuckles grunted. "You shouldn't put yourself down so much. You may not be as good as Sonic or I, but you're still pretty good."

Blinking, Tails almost blushed, but quickly contained himself; a comment like that from Knuckles meant a lot. "Nevertheless, Amy needs better. She needs someone who can go toe to toe with her without flinching, and as you can see from this arm," he said, sighing and lifting up his sling, "I'm definitely not that. You, however, are. So I want you to help train Amy."

Knuckles was silent for a long moment as he switched his heavy gaze back and forth between his two visitors. "Why," he finally asked, "does Amy need to be trained in the first place?"

Tails sighed again. "Sonic crossed the line and said something to Amy that shouldn't have been said. I offered to help her get stronger, so that Sonic wouldn't have anything to complain about, and Amy accepted." He suddenly grinned. "I think you can get get the details at your next monthly meeting."

Knuckles flinched, and then glared at Amy.

"I'm sorry!" She said, holding her hands up defensively in an act of surrender. "He had me all doped up for a medical exam, and then started asking me questions about drinking! I couldn't help it!"

Knuckles blinked, and then lightened his gaze. He looked out the window for almost a whole minute, his face as pensive and deep in thought as it always seemed to be, and then turned back to Tails. "I accept. She can come here to train with me everyday."

Tails gave Knuckles a perplexed look. "Uh, I appreciate that you want to help, but there's no way that Amy can possibly come all the way to Angel Island everyday."

Grinning, Knuckles gave Amy a humored glance. "I see. So she didn't tell you everything."

"Huh?" Tails looked between Knuckles and Amy. "What are you talking about?"

"Let's just say that I have my own methods of letting friends come and go as they please. It won't be a problem for Amy to come here everyday."

"Wait," Tails said in an incredulous and offended tone, "does that mean you don't consider me a friend!?"

Knuckles smirked. "I don't know about that, but you're not someone I would let close to the Master Emerald unsupervised – so this will have to stay a secret from you, for now."

Tails looked annoyed, but then decided to switch tactics and smirked cockily, imitating Sonic's patented annoying grin. "Hey, you can trust me. Besides, if I do anything the Emerald doesn't want me to, it'll warn me, right?"

Knuckle snorted. "If you count rebuilding the universe to make it as if you were never born a 'warning'. But even if you were willing to risk that, which I highly suspect you are, I still wouldn't let you near it."

Pouting, Tails sniffed and turned away from Knuckles. "Fine, _be _that way, you _technophobe!_ You and your Emerald can _keep_ your stone-age lifestyle for all I care!"

Knuckles ignored him, smiling a little, and turned to Amy. "No point in wasting time. Come with me, Amy. I need to show you some things."

"What, now?" Amy blinked at him groggily. "Sorry, but I'm not really in the shape to-"

"Amy." Knuckles' sharp tone seemed to make a burst of electricity go down Amy's spine. "I have decided to help you, so that is what I will do. I don't care what shape you're in. We're going to train, and you're going to give me your all until you have nothing left to give. You will do this every time you come here, until I decide you no longer need to be trained. You cannot quit, and you cannot skip a day. If you _do,_" the echidna growled, "I will find and drag you here. You do not want me to do that."

Amy was frozen in fear for a second at the image of Knuckles coming down to find her (she knew that _nothing_ would stand in his way, buildings included. He'd probably take a straight-line approach, carving his way through anything in his path) before Knuckles growled once more, and she squeaked out an affirmative. Knuckles then turned to Tails. "We won't be needing you any more. You can leave now."

Instead of getting offended like Amy expected him to, Tails simply grinned. "I leave her in your very capable hands. Oh, I'm still going to be giving her some other training, to increase her physical capabilities. We should probably get together and discuss a joint program."

Knuckles waved him off. "Do whatever you want. You train her your way, I'll train her mine. It'll only make her stronger faster."

Amy could feel the dread building up in her. "Hey, wait just a minute there! You can't expect me to do _both_ of your training schedules! I'll die! Really, I'll die!"

Tails just laughed. "Oh, Amy. Have you forgotten? You're able to tolerate many more times the damage that a normal person can. You'll be fine, trust me."

Amy looked at him doubtfully. "Are you _sure?_"

"Yes, absolutely. There's only a ten percent chance that you'll suffer anything permanent."

"Ten percent!? That's way too high!" Amy pressed two hands to her face, worriedly patting at various spots. "What if my face gets scarred?! I'm already unattractive to Sonic as it is!"

Tails rolled his eyes. "Don't be such a baby. Of _course_ you're going to get scarred. This is _Knuckles_ we're talking about. You'll be lucky to make it out of here everyday without breaking any bones."

Amy stared for a second, frozen, and then she leaned back against the wall, whimpering.

"Well," Tails said, turning back to Knuckles and acting as if everything was completely normal. "I believe everything's been settled. I'll try to get her through the daily requirement of training quickly, so that she'll have time to recover and give you her all." He frowned, and rubbed his chin with his free hand. "I might have to intensify things a bit, but I was going to do that anyway, eventually, so it's still fine." Tails turned to Knuckles and then gave a slight bow, smiling. "I look forward to seeing what kind of progress she'll make. Don't be afraid of hurting her; she's very tough."

Knuckles smirked. "I wouldn't have offered to train her if I was afraid of hurting her."

Giving a wave to Amy, who was too caught up in her imagination's idea of Knuckles' training to respond, Tails walked out the door and headed back the way they had came. Knuckles stood up and looked down at Amy, who was oblivious. "We're going now. Either you walk or I drag you."

No response.

"Have it your way." Knuckles grabbed one of her feet and calmly walked out the door, leaving Amy to scream briefly before her head's impact with the ground cut it off. Even though he was holding her tightly, he didn't even seem to notice her weight as she was roughly dragged though the dirt and undergrowth of the jungle that thrived on Angel Island.

Giving out a strangled squawk, Amy fought with the ground to avoid the larger rocks. "Knuckles- ack! Stop! I'll walk, I'll- ouch! Damn it, Knuckles I said- mmpfgh!" Her words were cut off as she got a mouthful of dirt. After she finished spitting it out, she tried to plead some more, but when that didn't seem to be working she began swearing at him. By the time they'd made it to their destination, both Knuckles and Amy were out of breath – Amy from her cursing, and Knuckles from his laughter.

"Hahahaha!" Knuckles was laughing so hard he had to hold his side. "I never thought I'd find someone who knew such virulent insults, much less hear you using them! I hardly understood some of those, but the ones I did were _nasty!_ I mean, I get anteater comments all the time, but I've never heard 'vile degenerate pus-sucking shit-sniffing dirt-shoveling ant-molester' before! I'm _impressed,_ Amy! Where did you hear those?"

Amy, for her part, was surprised to find Knuckles being so talkative without any alcohol in his system. "Let me go and I'll tell you."

Knuckles complied, and as soon as he did Amy leaped at him, trying to plant a fist in his face. Knuckles sidestepped the attack and casually back-handed her into a nearby wall. "We'll have time for that later. Right now I need to do the teaching part of the lesson." He walked into one of the huts, and Amy glared at the world around her, waiting for her head to stop spinning from the impact. They had stopped in a cluster of ancient stone huts made of some heavy-looking stone, remnants of Knuckle's ancestors. Pretty much everything had carvings on it, and unsurprisingly, the general architectural theme was the number seven, just like every other bit of surviving Echidnian architecture. There seemed to be nothing special about the place, but on closer inspection Amy noticed that there were quite a few traps around the houses, as well as some bones – sentient bones. Knuckles obviously guarded this place fiercely.

When the echidna walked out of the house, holding a pair of scrolls, Amy decided to put her grudge on hold. "What is this place? Why is it so closely guarded?"

Knuckles shrugged. "Nowhere special. I just hide some stuff here that I don't want anyone finding. It's better than in some high-profile spot like under the Master Emerald's altar." His eyes seemed to grow distant as he thought of something else, before he refocused on Amy. Putting one scroll down on top of a crumbling wall, Knuckles held the other in his hand, still tied closed. "Now for the lesson. When I was growing up, I found these two scrolls in one of the larger houses' basements. They both detail a type of martial art style that Echidnan priests used to use. My race's primary religion was worship of Chaos – the concept, not the creature. One of the tenants of that religion was violence, so the priests were expected to be able to be better at it than anyone else. This style was designed with echidnas in mind, but ever since Tails proposed the idea of training you, it's begun to look perfect for you."

Amy eyed the scroll in his hand cautiously. "Why? I'm not really the martial artist type, and neither is Sonic. He just uses his speed to kick ass – why can't I do the same?"

Knuckles gave Amy a look that was a mixture of cautious pity and questioning surprise. "You are not Sonic. You're not as experienced at brawling as he is, and you're nowhere near as fast – at least, not the last time you showed me how fast you were, and that was only about three months ago. You'll have to substitute for those things with training and learned skill." He took the scroll he was holding and opened it up. "This scroll is the one I studied. It details the male form of the style – whose name I do not know, by the way. We'll be referring to it as 'the style', barring some sort of naming genius on your part. Anyway, you won't be learning this style, but I wanted you to know how I fight is going to differ from how you need to fight." Knuckles advanced the scroll until it showed a picture of two simplistic figures fighting, one dealing a devastating punch to the other. "Basically, the male form deals with opponents by directly dealing massive damage. Philosophically and tactically, it punches through obstacles and barriers, taking the quickest path, and dealing as much damage as possible in one blow."

Knuckles rolled the scroll back up and the put it on top of the wall, picking up the other scroll. This he gave to Amy, motioning for her to open it up. "The female style is similar, but focuses on finding the right place to attack and dealing as much damage as possible when the enemy's guard is down. Make no mistake; just because it doesn't attack straight on doesn't mean its some toned down version for weak females. Unlike some other races, we Echidnas were never misogynistic; the female style uses just as much power, but where the male style takes the quickest, strongest path, the female style takes the most accurate, damaging path. One of the examples these scrolls give was that of passing a mountain range. The male style climbs up one side of the mountain and down the other, while the female style searches for a pass to go through. Both expend the same energy and achieve the same effect, just through different activities."

Amy found herself smirking. "Don't worry, the female style seems just fine to me. Honestly, why do you men always have to do things the hard way?"

"Because, like I said, it's quicker that way. Both styles are better suited to different situations, but in the end people will hardly be able to tell the difference unless they're familiar with the styles themselves. Both pretty much involve punching people very hard." Knuckles picked up the male-style scroll and began walking back to the hut. "I want you to read that scroll as fast as you can. Once you've read the whole thing I'll begin teaching you it as best I can, and training with you as you figure out the rest."

Amy glanced at some of the pictures at the beginning before rolling it back up and slipping it into her purse. "Sure, sounds good to me. But why do you want me to study the female style? I'm not exactly the most... graceful girl around."

"Because it's tradition." Knuckles paused and looked at her crossly, as if daring her to disagree, before continuing into the hut.

Amy shrugged; she wasn't about to try and push any of Knuckles' buttons. He'd always been a very old fashioned person, doing things 'the right way' even if for no other reason than they were the traditional way of doing things. "Well, whatever makes me stronger. We done now?"

Knuckles stepped back out of the hut, having stashed the scroll. "No. Now that we're finished with the 'teaching' part of my lesson, we're going to do the 'physical' part." He walked up up to Amy and pulled her to her feet.

"Physical?" Amy asked quizzically.

Knuckles nodded. "I'm going to punch you now."

Amy opened her mouth to respond, but before she even registered the movement Knuckles' fist was in her gut. He'd put some padding on his spikes, but Amy didn't have time to notice that. The body blow hit her solidly, and Knuckles was _very_ strong. Not only was all the breath blown out of her, Amy was unable to get in another breath.

The force of the blow sent her a few feet into the air. When she landed her legs couldn't hold her weight, and she sank to her knees, desperately trying to suck in air. Luckily, probably due to her unique durability, her diaphragm recovered after a couple of seconds, and she gasped, her throat making rasping noises as it sucked in as much air as it possibly could, as fast as possible.

Just as she was getting back to her feet, Knuckles walked up to her once again. "I'm going to punch you again," he announced, and this time Amy managed to catch a hint of movement and twist her body to avoid the blow – or at least _try_ to avoid the blow. Knuckles still got a solid hit in on her side, but it didn't hit her diaphragm, and while it hurt, hurt more than possibly anything ever had in her entire life, she was able to ready herself for Knuckles' follow-up strike.

It didn't come. Knuckles waited for another second, and then spoke again. "Better. Try to dodge it completely this time." His fist whipped out, incredibly fast and hard, and Amy tried to get a hand in the way to deflect the attack even as she spun her body to the side. Strong as she was, she was barely able to move Knuckles' fist, but it was enough that her dodge to the side succeeded.

This time Knuckles smiled. "Good. You have zero skill, but a fair amount of raw power and speed. Your stamina is actually quite impressive; it looks like I have something to work with. Now, I am no longer going to announce my attacks. See how many you can deflect."

The next hour was the most painful span of time in Amy's life.

When Knuckles finally announced that the day was over, Amy sighed in relief. She'd have sunk to her knees in relief, but she was already flat on her back, the muscles in her legs having given out under the assault of low kicks Knuckles had dealt out in the last five minutes. Even though she had tried her best, Knuckles had still clearly been toying with her; while a part of her burned with the humiliation, most of her was just glad that this person was on her side, and that he was actually going to help become more like him. The difference in their levels was literally incomprehensible for Amy; she simply couldn't wrap her mind around the concept of someone being _that good_. The speed his fists had been moving at was already at the limits of Amy's recognition, never mind the strength of his blows. When she tried to imagine Knuckles seriously attacking at full strength, her mind literally couldn't image how fast his fists must be moving. It was strange, really; never before had Amy thought of anything as impossibly fast. She might have been able to run faster than Knuckles, been able to comprehend running at Sonic's speed, but someone's hands moving at that speed seemed impossible.

Knuckles was standing over her body, waiting for the strength to return to her legs. "You did well. In a week, you'll be able to handle this level of attack with ease."

Amy laughed weakly. "A week? Don't you think you're being sort of optimistic?"

"Not if I keep in mind what Tails is going to be doing with you, no."

Amy winced. She had forgotten that things were only going to get tougher. "Can you pull me to my feet? My adrenaline's going to run out soon, and if I'm lying on the ground when that happens I'm probably going to pass out. I'd rather get to a bed first."

Knuckles nodded and held out a hand. Amy grabbed it and pulled herself up, grunting in pain when her legs complained. She tried to support herself on her own feet, but ended up having to lean into Knuckles. As the adrenaline left her body and her exhaustion kicked in, she felt her eyelids closing; it took all of her energy to prevent them from shutting and her mind from slipping into unconsciousness. "Whoa. I think I need to go to bed," she slurred, unable to focus enough on her mouth to get the words right.

Smirking, Knuckles handed her a bracelet. It was made of green jade, and was of a simple, seven-faceted construction – a carved piece of stone made to slip onto her wrist and stay there. In the center of it, though, was a tiny emerald. At their previous meetings, Knuckles had given her a slightly larger emerald, which had allowed her to teleport to and from a small ring of stones a short ways out of Anse. That emerald had only worked twice, for a round trip, and hadn't been attached to any jewelry. "What's the deal with the bracelet?" Amy asked.

"This is a special artifact," Knuckles said, and then chuckled at Amy's expression of panic. "Not _that_ special, don't worry. I won't kill you if you lose it, although I would prefer if you didn't. It allows you to teleport both to the Master Emerald, and to a place of your choice. Think of a place in your head," he commanded.

Amy complied, thinking of her room back in Tails base, and Knuckles placed a hand both on her forehead and on the bracelet. "Master Emerald," he began muttering, almost ritualistically, "Keeper of the Seven Servers and Lord over Time and Space, please forgive your servant this action. I humbly request a fraction of your infinite power, to assist your servant in completing his duties in protecting your shell from outside threats." He paused, closed his eyes calmly, and then began to chant. "Anagua mortis kaliptica tyres minuffe elisiem. Anagua mortis kaliptica tyres minuffe elisiem." He repeated the words five more times, and then paused once again before raising his head.

"It is done. When you wish to teleport yourself, think of the place, put your hand on the emerald, and _politely_ ask the Master Emerald to take you there. It doesn't need to be out loud; the Master Emerald can hear your thoughts if it wishes to."

Amy laughed nervously. "It wasn't nearly as complicated last time..."

"That's because every time you teleport you are directly asking the Master Emerald to take you there, instead of using the stored power in an emerald to do it for you. The energy in the bracelet only makes a connection with the Master Emerald, allowing it to use its power to teleport you." Knuckles stared at her harshly. "Never forget that you are asking for a favor each and every time you make use of this. Use it frivolously at your own risk."

"Right, right." Amy could barely feel the heat of Knuckles' gaze through her exhaustion. "I'm going to take advantage of this thing and go and get some sleep." Amy blinked. "Actually, do you know what time it is? I forgot my watch this morning."

Knuckles looked up at the sky. The sun was hidden behind the towering trees that covered Angel Island, but he seemed to be able to see enough to judge the time. "It's about six o'clock."

"Good enough," Amy said with a sigh. "Guess I'll see you tomorrow, huh? What time?"

"Whenever Tails finishes with you. I have nothing else to do these days, so as long as you don't show up in the middle of the night any time is good. We'll probably only need two hours for the next several sessions."

"I'll keep that in mind." Amy shakily pushed off from Knuckles and stood on her own two feet. "Thanks for teaching me. I'll try to read as much of that scroll as I can before tomorrow."

"Even if you read it all, we'll still be doing the physical part tomorrow."

Amy scowled. "You're a horrible person, you know that?"

Knuckles stared at her levelly. "After we're done you'll be thanking me. You'll also be wondering how you could have been so weak."

"I'm going to make you eat those words." Putting a hand on her bracelet, Amy nodded towards Knuckles. "But that will come later. Now, sleep."

Focusing, she pictured her room in her mind. Cautiously, she tried to project her thoughts toward the bracelet. _I hope I'm doing this right... Uh, Master Emerald? I'm, uh, could you take me back to my room? I really need to sleep._

A wave of power washed over her, just like it had every other time she'd teleported using one of Knuckles' emeralds, but this time there was a definite tint of amusement. Before she could even think of trying to focus on it, though, it was gone, and she was in her room. As soon as she saw her bed all other thoughts left her head; she took the three steps that were needed to get to the bed, ripping her shirt off as she did so, and as she laid down she barely managed to pull off her pants before sleep claimed her.

A few minutes later Tails cautiously sneaked into the room, a strange-looking pistol in his good hand and several humanoid robots, each unique in shape and apparent function, tailing behind him. When he saw Amy, though, he smiled and relaxed. "Geez," he said to himself, "you could have at least told me you were back." He had the feeling, though, that Knuckles had pushed her far too hard for that.

He stepped out of the room, and left Amy to her much needed rest. As he walked back to his lab, he thought back to how peaceful Amy had looked, how the guilt that had lain under the surface seemed to have disappeared. "Looks like I can take some lessons in how to completely use up someone's energy from you, Knuckles."

He waved at the robotic soldiers that had accompanied him, and they disappeared, taking a separate route to their refueling stations. As he stepped into his lab, he set his expression into one of calm, unyielding focus. In front of him stood several unfinished robots, in varying stages of completion. He wasn't satisfied in creating an army of robots – had no interest in such a thing, even if the government asked it of him. If he created robot soldiers, they'd be commandos, much like the robots that had rebelled against Dr. Robotnik over the years. He wasn't going to waste animatium on them, but he wasn't going to make anything generic, either. When he was done, he'd have a group of six robotic warriors that would work together to be a competent fighting force.

He was a long way from being done, though, especially since he'd been distracted lately by Amy. Now that he was forced to cramp up her training into a smaller time slot, he'd have more time to himself, and he was going to use it to get caught up in his projects. Hopefully his more... impatient backers wouldn't get angry at the delay he'd already experienced.

He pulled on a computer-assist visor and picked up a tiny welding tool. He bent over, focusing his eyes alternately on the tiny seams and cracks that needed to be sealed, and the blueprints that his visor provided him, and soon lost all track of time.


	10. Chapter 10

Here is chapter 10. It's a huge information dump, so take your time reading it. It outlines quite a bit of history, and a minimum of geography. Also, this should properly transmit to you the 'aura' or 'air' of the era - they're in the middle of a war, and the characters are supposed to reflect that, so they'll think differently from us, and I hope you see that. I went through this chapter four or five times, trying to streamline it's structure so that you get the most out of it, but I'm not sure I can make it a whole lot better, so here you go.

Anyway, to be honest I'm a little disappointed with the lack of reviews for Chapter 9. I was hoping for more, so I hope I get some more for this chapter. Please review!

* * *

Tails politely knocked on the door with his good hand, then rubbed at his tired eyes. He'd gotten so excited about the breakthroughs he was making the night before that he had forgotten to get any sleep. It was far from the first time this had happened, though, so unlike Amy he was still capable of functioning. Shows of such weakness usually ticked him off – ever since he'd decided to become strong on his own and step out of Sonic's shadow he'd despised weakness, both in himself and in others – but he could forgive it, for Amy. Besides, he'd eventually get around to fixing that particular weakness, probably using electric currents somehow. _Ah, Electricity. How I love you so._

It was currently six o'clock in the morning; this meant that Amy had been sleeping for a little under twelve hours. Normally he would have had her out and exercising after a maximum of eight hours, but he decided to to give her a break this one time. Knuckles had, from what he'd seen of Amy the night before, treated her pretty roughly. She'd need to get used to it, but one day of easing her into it wouldn't spoil her _too_ much.

Even after twelve hours, however, she still seemed to be exhausted; her lack of response at his knock proved such. Sighing, Tails opened the door, hoping he wasn't walking in on her naked or something. "Amy, it's time-"

He barely managed to close the door in time as a hail of metal shards and plastic fragments shot into where he had been moments before, moving fast enough that they ricocheted off of the metal door and hit the opposing walls. As he tried to calm his breath and figure out what had just happened, he heard Amy shout out (well, more of a groan, but it was way too loud and malevolent to be left at that), "Go away!"

"Amy," Tails called out, trying to keep his voice even. He had expected some difficulties when he offered Amy the chance to change herself, but he was getting awfully tired of riding out her emotional roller coasters. "You need to get up. I can't let you sleep more than twelve hours – it'll just make you more tired."

"Not sleeping. Too busy hurting. Go away!"

Briefly Tails' eyes opened in worry, but then relaxed as he realized what was going on. _Ah. Sore from Knuckles' training sessions. She sounds pretty ticked, though – what'd he do, beat her black and blue? I thought that was my job. _"Amy, I can give you some painkillers to help, and stretching will make you feel better. Trust me, sitting in bed is only going to make it worse."

There was a loud moan, and then the sound of Amy getting off the bed. A few seconds after that Amy opened the door, clad in nothing but her bra and panties, seemingly not caring. Her eyes were red, and from the way she was moving Tails could tell that her body was very stiff. "Make pain go 'way. Please," she added, as an afterthought.

Tails averted his eyes, pointedly not looking at her assets. Sure, part of him wanted to, but the rest of him knew that survival was more important. "Amy, you should put on some clothes-"

"Pain. Away. Now."

Rolling his eyes and sighing, Tails turned around (so that Amy couldn't blame him for looking even if she tried to twist the situation later) and pulled out his electronic clipboard. Resting it in his sling, he used his fingers to make motions on the board, signaling for a robot to bring a relatively generous dose of painkillers, and then put the board back in the plastic case he kept it in, attached to his waist. "Alright, painkillers coming. Now, can you _please_ put some clothes on?"

Amy grunted, but complied, gingerly getting into her exercise clothing. Once she was suitably covered, Tails looked around her room. The metal and plastic scattered around the room indicated that the spider bot he'd sent to wake her up had been rather rudely prevented from doing his duty. _I made those guys to be extra tough, just in case she got rough with them. She must get stronger when she's angry, or something. Or maybe she's on her period. _"So, ready for a healthy dose of exercise?"

Amy didn't answer, instead focusing on a bit of metal plate she held in her hands. She used her fingers to curl and straighten it, over and over repeatedly, until the normally inflexible metal finally snapped in two.

"Right..." Tails continued, trying to inject cheer and energy into his words. Tired as he was, it was a challenge. "Since we're starting so early, we'll be done fairly early too. How about a visit to the place that Rouge works?"

Amy turned her bloodshot eyes towards Tails. "What? Why?"

"Well, some government officials have been asking to meet with you, since they're spending money on you and everything. It's not really necessary, but I thought we might as well get it over and done with, since we have the time today. Besides, if we have Rouge with us, they won't dare be as annoying as they undoubtedly want to be. She has a reputation for ignoring rank, you see."

Shrugging, and then wincing from the movement, Amy searched the ground for something else to distract herself with. "Sure, whatever. Knuckles said whenever was good."

Soon the robot, another spider bot, arrived with Amy's medicine, and she drank the pills down eagerly with the provided glass of water. "Alright," Tails said, motioning for Amy to follow him, "we need to go get you warmed up. We'll start with stretches and a long run, and see where we go from there, okay?"

Amy groaned again as she got to her feet, but didn't give any more complaints as they made their way to the elevator. Soon they were on floor B5, and they got started with the day. Amy made all sorts of horrible sounds as she was forced through all her stretches – if Tails didn't know any better he'd think she was dying – but she seemed to work it out of her system soon enough.

The run was the major part of Amy's new schedule. Since Knuckles' training would undoubtedly help Amy with her reflexes, toughness, and half a dozen other attributes that active combat required, Tails had decided to limit his training, for the moment, to increasing Amy's running speed, running endurance, and strength. The first two were handled by running, of course, and the last could be increased through weight lifting – for now, Amy's regimen would consist of only those two activities.

Now Amy had to run for three hours, with a few breaks, and then lift weights for about an hour more after that. Sore as she was this morning it took Amy a little while to get up to full speed; Tails wasn't exactly pleased with her performance, but she was able to complete the exercise, so it didn't really matter.

Next was what Tails had been looking forward to. On the first day of actual training Amy had easily lifted his beginner set of weights, so he'd dropped that exercise. Now, though, it was time to see if he could make her already remarkable strength even better. As he led Amy into the advanced weight room, still tired and sweating from her long run, he proudly swept his arm out to show her the special set of weights he'd built with her in mind. "I present to you the Master Deluxe Monstorium Weight Set."

Amy looked at the various weights and exercise machines inquisitively. They were big and bulky, and made out of some dark metal that looked extremely heavy. There were even giant robot arms attached to the walls to catch them if she accidentally dropped them. "They look kinda familiar."

"That's because that hammer you chose is made out of the same stuff. Monstorium is an alloy of uranium and steel, along with almost a dozen other exotic particles. Not exactly easy to make, but the stuff weighs more than a simple examination would lead you to believe – it actually magnifies the effect of gravity on itself by a small amount."

"Neat," Amy said without emotion. Science wasn't exactly her passion. "So, I just lift them?"

Tails nodded. "That's right. Careful, though; they're much heavier than they look. Start with the one farthest on the left, the one marked, 'A-1'. Work your way up to A-5, and that'll be it for today. I doubt you'll be moving up to the B series any time soon, but even if you _are _strong enough to do so, I need to get appropriate data, so just stick to the A's."

Amy nodded sharply, summoning her energy to the task, and walked up the the weights on the left. As Tails had mentioned there were five different kinds of weights – a bench-press, dumbbells for the hands, one machine for exercising her legs, and two different machines for exercising her torso. She laid down on the bench-press, which was marked as 'A-1', put her hands firmly on the bar above her, and pushed.

It didn't budge.

Amy stared at the dumbbell, impressed despite herself. The weights on each end were both globes a little bit more than twice the size of her head; nothing unusual for the weights she used, but this was most definitely not a normal weight set. "You weren't kidding about how heavy these things are, huh?" Focusing, she pushed upwards once again, and managed to lift the weight. Gritting her teeth, she pushed it up until her arms were extended, and then let the dumbbell slowly sink down until it almost rested against her chest. A pair of robotic arms automatically extended and set themselves so that she couldn't drop it, even if she wanted to. Sucking in air and then blowing it out, she lifted the weight once again.

After about five of these, she could feel her arms shaking. "How many of these am I supposed to be doing?" she called out to Tails.

"For you, right now? Fifty is good."

She would have laughed, but it would probably have lost her her grip on the massively heavy weight. "Yeah, right. Really, how many?"

Tails smirked. "I'm serious. What, poor little Amy can't handle a little weight lifting? Knuckles could do that many on the heaviest set without breaking a sweat."

"Knuckles," Amy said as she pushed the weight up once again, "is, despite how much I love the guy, a muscle bound idiot. His idea of 'tactics' is leaping onto a battleship, busting its engine, and riding the thing down to the ground. The fact that he survives the crash is a testament to how much of a monster he is."

"Oh?" Tails smirk grew a little bigger. "I didn't know you felt that way about Knuckles. Sonic will be crushed!"

Amy blushed, and growled as she lifted the weight again. "I didn't mean it that way, you idiot, and you know it. I love him like a, a, a brother. Or an uncle; that's more accurate."

"Now it's incest! You're such a dirty girl!"

Amy pushed it up again. "Are you _trying_ to piss me off?"

"Amy, I would never try to do such a thing. I can't believe you think me so low!"

She rolled her eyes. "Right, because you're so _noble _all the time. How could I forget?"

"Indeed. But rather than that, tell me what you and Knuckles talk about at your meetings."

Amy looked at Tails suspiciously. "How is that _any_ of your business?"

Tails smiled back slyly. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone. And you don't have to tell me what Knuckles talks about – just your own problems. Wouldn't it be nice to complain to someone else for a change? Someone, I dare say, a little smarter?"

Again the weight went up. Amy had lost track of how many she'd lifted, so she just decided to continue until she could do no more or Tails interrupted her. "Knuckles isn't the only one I talk to, you know."

"You mean Rouge and Cream? Until they can convince me, even once, that either of their viewpoints is correct, they still fall short of my expectations of 'smart'."

"Viewpoints?" Amy crinkled her eyebrow, blinking to get the sweat out of her eyes. "What _do_ you and those two discuss, anyway?"

"Oh, just philosophical stuff." Tails adopted a rather bored expression on his face. "Cream is naïve and Rouge is jaded. I prefer to take a viewpoint somewhere between the two – or just play devil's advocate, when the mood hits me."

Amy snorted. "That sounds fine to me. Both of those girls are a little too passionate for my tastes."

"I concur. But enough about me – again, what do you and Knuckles talk about?"

"Oh, Sonic for the most part." Amy sighed resignedly. "You know, how annoying his arrogance is, how stupid he acts most of the time, how little he thinks of others."

Tails frowned. "He isn't thoughtless, you know. He _does_ think of others. He just... isn't terribly good at it."

"I know, I know." Amy lifted the weights again, sighing. Her muscles had warmed up, and the weight seemed to be a little lighter than before. "But it still hurts when he grins so easily as he tells you the reason he missed your date was because, 'I saw the most awesome sunset ever and totally needed to watch it to its end.' Well, that's the situation I experience the most. For Knuckles, it's more along the lines of, 'Yo! I borrowed one of your most precious religious artifacts because I found this hidden room in some ancient ruins at the edge of a desert that totally had a spot that looked just like a Chaos Emerald would fit there, but it didn't and the stonework ate it or something so I lost it.' It's like he _enjoys_ ticking us off."

Tails laughed nervously. "Ah, well, he, um, kinda actually does."

Amy flicked her eyes to Tails, and then back to the weight, the sweat dripping into her eyes suddenly infinitely more annoying. "Are you kidding me!? He _actually _enjoys annoying us? What the hell!?"

"Well, he has a problem with 'tight-asses', which he classifies both you and Knuckles as. He thinks it's his duty to make you lighten up."

Growling, Amy lifted the weight up, taking satisfaction in the strain and tremble it created in her arms. "Well, if you see him before I do, tell him it doesn't help."

Tails smiled. "Can do. Annnnnd..." as Amy finished dropping the weight onto her chest, Tails tapped on his board, which he had taken out at some point. "That's fifty! Good job!"

Amy blinked before she carefully lifted the weight and deposited it onto its holding rack, which caused the thing to shake ominously. "That was fast. What's next?"

"Follow the numbers. Now we have the leg training, then the ab and chest weight machine, then the hand dumbbells, and finally the back weight machine."

Her arms still trembling slightly, Amy sat down in the chair for the leg weights. There were a set of braces for her legs, which she slid them into after taking off her shoes. Wiggling her four toes as she tensed her muscles, she slipped the lever near her arm to the first configuration. "And how many of these do I need to do?"

"Fifty of each configuration. They movements are small, so it will take more time than a comprehensive exercise, but your entire leg will be trained." Tails nodded As Amy began to lift her lower legs, her knee not budging. "So, what is it that you and Knuckles do at your meetings? Do you just drink?"

Amy smiled. "Of course not. We're not a pair of sad drunks, you know."

"Sure you aren't."

"Hah!" Amy exclaimed, the burning sensation in her legs beginning to build. "I don't need some twelve year old lecturing me on my drinking habits! You can talk after you've done a little more growing up!"

"Oof! Touché!" Tails' smile was little more wicked now as he winced, showing that the barb had hit home – he didn't like people making fun of his age. "But instead of insults, why don't you hand me some information. I have to admit I'm curious."

"Well, we talk, and drink. Sometimes he talks about his culture, or what _was_ his culture, and sometimes I tell our fortunes."

"Fortunes?" Tails blinked, having stepped into territory he was completely unfamiliar with. "How?"

"Using Tarot cards," Amy said nonchalantly. "I don't really believe in the things, though, and neither does Knuckles. I think. Sometimes he gets a little antsy; every time I've read his fortune, it comes up 'you will soon find your soul mate.' I started doing that on purpose in the beginning, but after I taught him to do the readings himself, he was getting it too. It's a little strange."

"I can imagine." Tails grinned suddenly. "Oh, I can imagine what that's about, all right."

"Of course. It's obvious to everyone but him. Actually, I think Rouge is a little shaky on their relationship herself, but she's just trying to hang on to her 'single sexy thief' complex." Amy pushed the lever, switching into configuration two, which pushed her upper leg muscles.

"You know," Tails began, his grin growing wider, "I caught Rouge reading some sort of diary once. When I pressed her on it, she said it wasn't hers, but Knuckles'. She immediately acted like she hadn't meant to let that out, so I think its true. She's not _that_ good of an actor."

"What!?" Amy was too out of breath to laugh, but that didn't stop the grin from appearing on her face. "Knuckles keeps a diary!? That's hilarious! How did Rouge get her hands on it, though?"

"Probably stole it. When I glanced at the diary, though, it had the number '53' scratched into the side. I've been wondering about this for a while, as it seemed really strange, but do you think Knuckles actually had fifty three of the things floating around?"

"I don't know, maybe. I wouldn't put it past him. He gets _awfully_ bored up there, sometimes." Amy finished the second configuration and moved to the third, which forced her to use the muscles in her feet and ankles – a new experience. "Now I have a question for _you_. Sonic mentioned that you two had some sort of accident early on in your career. Would you mind talking about it? I know it's not really any of my business, but it's been really bothering me."

Tails stiffened for a moment, and then sighed. "I guess it's alright for you to know. You know how Eggman started this war, right?"

Amy nodded. "Of course. It was that major attack on cities worldwide, with nothing but police to defend them. Which reminds me – you remember how those humans on that other world actually had active armies with which to defend themselves against Eggman? Why on earth did they have those in the first place? I mean, we had an air force and a navy to deal with the occasional threat from pirates and terrorists and the like, and special police forces, but what would you use an actual ground-based army for?"

"To attack each other," Tails said, a sad note in his voice. "Humans are a pretty aggressive species. I mean, we're far from innocent on this world, but ever since we decided to treat ourselves as 'sentients' instead of individual species nobody's really been comfortable with trying to conquer each other – at least, no citizen's are. There are still plenty of dictatorships around that constantly feud or resources and territory. But the rest of the world; we'd have little squabbles with airplanes and ships, yeah, but no actual attempts to take over land permanently. Humans, on the other hand, are constantly fighting each other over territory. Sometimes it makes me wonder if our differences managed to draw us closer together, cheesy as that sounds. If we never had had to deal with the idea of different species, of looking at different races and deciding that they were, overall, neither inferior nor superior to us, maybe we would still be fighting just like them.

"But that's besides the point. After Eggman made that attack, the whole world was thrown into chaos, as you know. I lost my aunt in that attack." Tails looked down, genuine sadness on his face. "She didn't love me very much, but I still loved her. She was all I had, and Eggman took her from me." His fist tightened, the fabric of his gloves creaking.

Amy paused in her exercises. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be." Tails refocused on the subject at hand. "Here on Morwin we managed to take back almost all of our cities, while on Feyt Eggman succeeded in taking over. Right now life over there is pretty messed up. Some sort of meritocracy, based on what Eggman needs; basically, engineers, scientists, bounty hunters or other military units that robots can't quite manage to completely emulate, at least not cheaply. Anyway, a year after that attack the Youth Brigade was formed."

Amy nodded. "I know that much. After all, Memorial Day is pretty huge." Then her eyes opened wide. "No way! You guys were in the Youth Brigade!? But, Sonic was ten back then, and you were six! _Six! _What psychos let you in!?"

Tails shrugged "About half of us were Sonic's age or a little older. You don't have to be very old to use a gun. As for me – well, I was smart even back then, even by an adult's standards. _Really _smart. Also, we Kitsune grow up a little quicker than some other races. Physically, I'm about as mature as Sonic is – unlike you, I'll be considered full grown by the time I'm fifteen. I'll pretty much stay that way until I'm fifty, and then I'll start growing old. Kitsune are just like that."

Tails grinned briefly, and then resumed his thoughtful, slightly dispirited face. "The Youth Brigade was full of people just like us – hot-blooded kids who'd lost something. The guy who led us was this old soldier, a wolverine named Marco Mateus. He was really strange – had lived this self-sufficient lifestyle in the mountains for years before Eggman showed up, knifing predators that bugged him and making clothes out of them and stuff; pretty hardcore. We all looked up to him like he was a hero. And, well, even if you think leading an army of children is a crime, in the end I think he kinda was. It takes guts to create an army to fight against someone like Eggman, especially if the only soldiers you can get are almost all children; most of the adults back then were petrified at the very _thought _of Eggman's robot armies."

"Guts? A hero? Because of him, tens of thousands of people died!"

"He just did what was necessary at the time – or rather, tried and failed to do what was necessary. It wasn't his fault that we got massacred, it was Eggman's."

"Eggman wasn't the one who-"

"Amy," Tails, said, interrupting her, "I'm not going to discuss this with you. If you were there, you would have understood."

There was a pensive silence for a moment, and then Tails continued. "The Youth Brigade was formed to fight off Eggman, so we spent about a month collecting all sorts of armaments to fight off Eggman's robots. The World Army, as it was called back then, had control over most of that stuff, but our commander had some ties and got his hands on some weapons, so most of us at least had handguns when we decided to march, with some of us holding more exotic things like rocket launchers and rifles."

"Wait," Amy said, confused. She switched to configuration four as she spoke, which was for her entire leg. "He just had 'connections'? Until Eggman attacked, most police forces had little more than tear gas at their disposal, and he just 'got his hands' on lethal weaponry? You gotta explain a little more."

Tails shrugged. "Sorry, but I can't. I wasn't really paying attention to that back then – I was busy trying to figure out how you fired a handgun without knocking yourself off your feet." He suddenly smiled. "For some reason I decided I needed to use a big magnum; I could barely fire the thing without pulling a muscle or two in my arms. Sonic was confident enough in his speed – which wasn't anywhere near as fast as it is now, probably a little slower than you – and he'd been getting in fist fights for years, so he didn't use a weapon, but I thought that I needed a good weapon if I was going to fight against robots. I was pretty familiar with the things, you know, thanks to Bro Bot Battling, even if they weren't even comparable. I had an idea of what we were getting into, which makes me even stupider.

"Anyway, Sonic and I were quickly noticed for out natural talents, and made into corporals or something. No one really cared about the names – we were in charge of a brigade, which was made up of four platoons, and there were sixteen brigades in each unit, of which there were also sixteen. There were a lot of us back then – nearly twenty thousand, each platoons having twenty five members average, which was huge compared to any of the standing militaries at that point in time. Of course, now the Alliance has fifty times that at the ready, and some of them actually have some training, but _we _thought we couldn't possibly lose. But, that's exactly what happened."

"Right," Amy said as she finished up the final leg exercise and got up, heading over to one of the torso machines. She bent down to check the number: A-5. "So, why do you and Sonic take it so personally? I mean, no offense, but it's not like you were really responsible for what happened. _Everyone_ in that entire army got screwed over."

"Yeah, but we were two-stars – brigade leaders. Most two-stars had some sort of combat experience, so Sonic and I were ecstatic that we got in on pure talent, and at such a young age. A lot of the one-stars – the platoon leaders – and some of the two-stars were pretty pissed, but the three-stars, or unit leaders, liked us, so we got to keep our positions. It got to our heads, and during the actual battle we disobeyed orders and went off on our own. Before the retreat was sounded and everything went to hell we both lost about half our brigades." Tails looked down again, the expression on his face saying that he had faced this particular pain over and over again, but it still hurt. "If we had obeyed orders, more people might have survived."

Amy had found the right machine, and slipped on the harness. It fit snug around her body, and she looked to Tails. "How many exercises? Fifty again?"

"Right."

Amy began to flex against the restraints, grunting as her abdomen and chest muscles were strained. "Okay. But, I thought all of the Youth Brigade was destroyed. How can you take the blame for an attack that failed so miserably on such a massive scale?"

"Look, I understand what you're saying," Tails said, shaking his head. "But just because the leaders above us failed doesn't mean we didn't screw up too. Who knows? Maybe, if there were more men and women alive in our unit, more than the dozen that survived that whole affair would have made it out of that battle. As it was, Sonic found me under some rubble, and we met up with the other ten survivors on our way back to Morwin. Half of us died of starvation or were caught by robots on the way back, and I've never heard from the other four that made it since."

"You know," Amy said between exhalations, "I don't know... a whole lot about that attack. I mean, specifics... other than it was... in Feyt, and failed miserably."

"Of course you don't. It's restricted information, and pretty much no one but Sonic, Eggman, and I know what happened that day. But, if you're interested, I'll tell you."

Amy nodded. "I'm interested. This... might sound callous, but if it... motivates Sonic, then I'm interested."

"I've learned to expect nothing less from you, Amy," Tails said with a smile. "I've always had a certain amount of respect for your drive. But, the attack." He took a deep breath, briefly closing his eyes as he recalled the information. "The land bridge that connects the continents of Feyt and Morwin touches Morwin's Cape Gardia, on its northern tip here in Elem, and connects to the Storm Cliffs in southern Feyt, in the former country of Syma. Our target was the city of Tanormy, the former capital of Syma and a huge port town. The naval battle going on at that point was massive, even more critical than the air battles; if we recaptured Tanormy, the war would have definitively swung, if not into our favor, at least closer towards equilibrium. As you probably know, being a practical scholar on Sonic, Anse, and more importantly Dynos, was still controlled by Eggman, so if we managed to take Tanormy, the plan was we could use our hold there to pressure Eggman out of his forward base at Dynos, and thus completely out of Morwin entirely."

Eyes glazed over, Amy tried to process all of what Tails had just said. After a moment, she switched the configuration on the weight machine, and turned her attention back to Tails. "So what happened?"

"Well, since the naval battle was so terrible, there was no way in hell we were going to get boat transports for twenty thousand troops. Instead, we made a daring attack on the Gardia land bridge. Eggman had reinforced it when he took control to prevent the World Army from destroying it, making it look more like a man-made bridge with all the concrete – well, from far away. It was still massive enough that you could fit several large cities onto it with almost no trouble. Anyway, we attacked it when his defenses were lowest and managed to actually succeed. We had some losses, but it was really a fantastic victory – morale soared. We used the bridge to march across and headed straight for Tanormy; it was the assault on Tanormy that was what failed. I don't know what actually went wrong, as I don't know much about the attack aside from what happened to the brigades Sonic and I led, but from the little information I've gathered, it was just a matter of numbers. Marco, our leader, led this fantastic retreat at the end from what Sonic told me, destroying ten of thousands of robots using impromptu traps and ambushes; but he, along with everyone else, died."

"So you guys attacked and got killed? What happened to you? And how come so few people survived?"

"I survived because I got lucky, and didn't get crushed by the rubble that fell on me. As for the others?" The look in Tails' eyes turned dangerous, almost vicious. "Well, the propaganda, in this case, is correct. It wasn't due to any particular incompetence on our leaders parts – well, the defeat itself was, but not the massacre. Eggman is just ruthless. I don't know if he was smarting from how we took the land bridge, or if he would have so thoroughly mopped us up anyway, but we both know that Eggman is resentful of slights on his genius, so he probably was taking his own form of petty revenge."

Amy switched to the last configuration. "Hardly seems exactly 'petty' to send your robot soldiers out to massacre every single remnant of an invading army. I'd describe it more as 'psychotic'."

"Well, if you were trying to crush your enemies' spirits, which he was, then it was actually sound tactics, distressing as that sounds. But it doesn't really matter. As I mentioned, Sonic found me, and we limped back to Morwin. We sneaked over the Gardia land bridge, most of us getting across without getting caught, which was pretty miraculous. After that, Sonic and I split up from the others to find our own way home. Whatever was left of it, anyway." Tails let out a deep breath, seemingly exhausted from his exposition.

Amy sucked in air, focusing on the new exercise, which she found slightly difficult. She'd worked on her abs before, but this one was forcing her to use the muscles in her side. _I should have been more thorough in my training, before_. "Believe it or not, despite being a 'Sonic scholar', I don't know how he grew up. Could you tell me more about it?"

Tails barked out a short laugh, bitterness creeping into his tone. "Should I be surprised or impressed that you can take all that info without even being distracted from your exercises?"

Amy continued to twist her body, pulling at her sides. "Sonic is everything to me. Besides, I've pretty much grown up in this war – at least, for the last six years I have. I'm a little... numb."

Tails stared at her for a moment, but then nodded. "Fair enough. I'm pretty much the same. As for Sonic, from what I know he grew up with foster parents his whole life. Except for the last ones, the ones that got killed by Eggman, he disliked them and spent more time in the woods than at home. Well, the last family was chosen specifically because they liked to go camping, so he still spent more time in the woods, but at least he did it with them. If you want anything more personal than that, you'll have to ask Sonic; I'm not about spill his secrets like that."

"Che. Fine, be that way." Amy finished with the side-pulls and pulled herself out of the harness. "What did you guys do after the Youth Brigade got destroyed?"

"We wandered around, scavenging. Sometimes we'd pretend to be refugees from Feyt, and got food from the shelters, but mostly we'd just do small jobs and scrape up enough money for food. And when we had to, we'd steal it – which did _not_ sit well with Sonic, let me tell you."

Amy raised an eyebrow at Tails as she sat down on the bench in front of the dumbbells. "And it did with you?"

"I'm a little more practical than Sonic, especially when my belly feels like it could snap my spine in two." Tails shook his head, bemused, but then turned serious. "But that's what we did – we survived, whatever it took."

Amy nodded reluctantly. "I can hardly blame you. I did much the same thing, although I managed to find a group of people to stick with, so I never had to resort to stealing. But I thought about it, a lot. There was a lot of hunger back then, and not much room for compassion." She lifted a pair of dumbbells in her hands and began the familiar exercises.

"Yeah. Sonic did not like that lack of compassion – heroes had to be compassionate, after all. I'll tell you this much about his past – he's _always_ wanted to be a hero, ever since we were kids. It's what drove him to join the Youth Brigade, and it's what drove him to finally make one last, desperate attempt to change his life when he attacked Fort Yrimsen."

Amy's smiled. "Ah, yes, the first time he appeared on the news. You know, until I saw that on the news, I didn't even know I was hedgehog? I recognized that he was the same species I was, and the news called him a hedgehog, so I finally knew what I was. Up to that point I thought I was an echidna. Really. I'd read these stories at some point about 'lost species' – which didn't even _mention_ hedgehogs, by the way – and they sounded the coolest, so I decided I was one of them."

Tails couldn't help but smile back. "Really? You thought you were an _echidna?_ That's pretty funny; no offense, but they're known for being quiet and stoic, and while it's arguable that you're 'stoic' you're hardly very quiet."

Amy chuckled, even as her arms began to tremble again from the strain. "I know, but back at the orphanage I was convinced that I was an echidna, so I tried to be 'quiet and stoic.' What I ended up doing was being strangely quiet until I would finally blow my top, ripping whoever was annoying me a new one. The people who ran the orphanages thought I was growing up to be a psycho; I kept getting bounced around to different orphanages. I went back and tried to find the first person who raised me, but she ended up dying in the initial assault by Eggman."

"Oh." Tails blinked, and then bowed his head slightly. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. She was a bitch, from what I remember. I'm just annoyed because I have no other leads to where I came from."

"That's too bad," Tails said with honest remorse. "I'd like to have a lead to other hedgehogs as well. Despite having the Alliance help me in my search, I've never found any others besides you and Sonic."

Amy smiled with both amusement and bitterness in her grin. "And to think that prude still resists my charms. It's for the survival of the species!"

"I could always clone you, you know. Despite medical stuff being my weakness, with a decade or so of research, I'm sure I could find a way to modify the DNA so that there's an actual gene pool. From what I managed to salvage of Gerald Robotnik's research, I think that's what he used to create Shadow."

Amy's mood instantly turned sour. "I don't want to talk about that asshole."

"Who, Shadow?"

She nodded. "Let's talk about something else, something more pleasant – like Sonic's first victories over Eggman!" Her mood marginally recovered, Amy continued pumping the dumbbells.

"You mean Yrimsen?" Tails smiled as he thought back to the event. "I told Sonic not to go, that it was suicide, but he didn't seem to care. I think he was tired of living, really – he wanted to go out with a bang."

"Really?" The idea seemed to sober Amy. "I had no idea."

"Yep. Funny that it ended up working, huh? Eggman only remembered Sonic after his victory at Dynos, though."

"Well, of _course _he remembered who Sonic was after Dynos!" Amy almost stopped exercising in her exuberance. "Sonic rushed through an _army_ of robots, avoiding them all, to have a showdown with Eggman in the center of his base in the ruins of the former port town of Dynos. After defeating Eggman's prize robot, which Eggman had been manning _personally_, Sonic set off the reactor and blew the whole base up! I mean, Sonic's done that dozens of times now, but that was the first – not just of Sonic's victories, but of the entire Alliance's! He _single handedly _drove Eggman out of Morwin – I was _glued_ to the screen when they showed the news flash on TV! Ever since then, I've loved Sonic with all my heart!"

Tails smirked. "You and every other female between the ages of- no, scratch that, just every other female."

"Take that back, or I'll start using these dumbbells for inappropriate uses. Like braining you."

Tails put his good hand up defensively, still smiling. "What? It's true. But for the record, I think your love is the purest and most true."

Amy smiled, blushing a bit. "You're just saying that..."

"Yep."

A dumbbell was promptly thrown, and then caught by a robot arm. "Hey, watch it! Those things are _heavy!_" Tails was suddenly glad he'd taken the time to program the arms to catch flying objects despite it seeming a useless precaution at the time.

"Pff. I was done with them anyway. I did fifty, by the way, for each arm."

"Good. That's what I wanted you to do. The weight is just right for each instrument, so you'll always have to do the same number of exercises, unless I want to build your muscles in a specific way."

"So fifty for this thing too?" Amy was standing in front of the last machine, which had another harness, this one focused on her back.

"Yep. But anyway, after his victory at Dynos this war's pretty much been about Eggman defeating Sonic. There hasn't been a speck of combat outside of Sonic's attacks on Eggman's bases, and Eggman's attempts to lure Sonic into traps. It's almost peaceful here in Morwin – and in Feyt, too. Did you know that the flow of refugees has been changing in the last six months? There are almost no moles or lizards coming out, and only about half as many non-predatory birds. It's no coincidence that those races are known for their skill in the sciences, nor that the predatory birds that were the most influential race in Feyt due to their military history compose the largest share of refugees – the people in Feyt are adapting in this time of relative peace. At least, the ones who have a _chance _to adapt are."

Amy had finished strapping herself in, and had started on the first configuration, which was focusing on her lower back muscles. "How could they possibly do that? Eggman's a psychotic madman that thinks robots are superior to everyone – everyone but him, since he created them. Where is there a place for anyone to fit into that?"

"Like I said, as scientists or engineers. Robots can't do that – _yet_ – so Eggman needs sentients to do it for him."

Frowning, Amy was finding herself struggling to gather the energy to finish up her training. She'd been worked hard and good, and was pretty tired. _At least I'm not really sore anymore – at least, not sore from Knuckles. _"I can't believe people would willingly work under Eggman."

"'Chimera, Chimera, fragment ideals held by kaleidoscopic life, why do you twist so?'" Tails quoted, from something Amy didn't recognize.

"What was that supposed to be?"

Tails frowned. "It's from _Euthanasia and Punishment_. It's a reference about how life adapts. If I knew you were illiterate, though, I wouldn't have bothered."

"Hey!"

"Anyway," Tails said airily, "What I was _trying_ to say is that, if I was forced to live in Feyt, I'd take any advantage I could get. Eggman could care less about you if you aren't useful to him – and people he doesn't care about tend to end up either living in the dirt, or getting buried in it."

Groaning, Amy finished the fiftieth exercise and switched to the second, and last, configuration. "I'd never do that. I'd join the resistance and fight against him."

"Even if they're totally powerless to change anything? The Robot Freedom Force is more successful than they are, and they have even fewer numbers."

"Yeah, but they're totally composed of formerly elite commandos from Eggman's upper echelon. _And_ they're not trying to destroy Eggman's rule – they're just trying to free their 'bretheren' from 'slavery'." Even as she struggled to finish the exercise, which was pulling on her upper back, Amy almost got distracted by the sudden and intense distaste that coursed through her. "Those guys _really _piss me off."

"Hey, they're just trying to free themselves. They're a new race of sentients – it makes sense for them to be more worried about themselves than anything else. In fact, that chao robo was designed after them, only more peaceful in design, with an emphasis in adaptive intelligence instead of quick decision making."

Amy felt a snarl coming onto her face. "I don't care. They use dirty tactics, and don't give a damn about anything other than themselves. I mean, a year ago, when I followed Sonic during one of his attacks, I ended up having a brush with them. I tried to convince them to ally themselves with the Alliance, but they just tried to shoot me!"

Tails sighed. "I'm not going to defend them. They were built to be soldiers, and their long term foresight isn't the greatest."

"You sure _sound_ like you're defending them."

"I'm admitting they're flawed, almost critically so. Besides, I have a suspicion that Metal Sonic is leading them from the shadows." Tails paused for a moment, thinking of something. "I just want you to know that my chao robo won't be _anything_ like them."

Amy let out a huge sigh as she finished the last exercise. "Of course he won't. I'm helping to raise him, aren't I?"

Smiling, Tails offered Amy a hand, only for her to wave it away. "Right, of course. How could I forget? I'll have to actually let you get some time with him."

Taking a few deep breaths, Amy gathered herself up and got to her feet. "Good idea. I still haven't gotten my revenge on that imp."

"Hey! You're supposed to be helping him become a _good_ guy!"

Amy gave Tails a crooked smile. "Revenge is a good thing! If it wasn't, it wouldn't feel so pleasant!" When Tails only looked at her more fiercely, she put a hand on his head and ruffled his fur. "Relax! I'm just kidding. Are we going to go visit Rouge now?"

Tails tried to smooth his hair back into place, an annoyed look on his face. "Stop doing that, please! And yes, we're going to go visit her. You can get some rest in the helicopter; I already have some refreshments waiting there. Let's get going before they get warm."

Amy nodded, licking her parched lips at the though of a cold sports drink, and followed Tails out the door and towards the lift.


End file.
